Child of the Volcano Book 1: The Son of Neptune
by Coolness121
Summary: Death is permanent. No one escapes death, and that was a fact. But when the dead aren't staying dead for as long as they should be, something needed to be done. "To the land beyond the gods themselves. They say no one has went there and made it back in one piece. Well I say they haven't meet Naruto Uzumaki yet!"
1. Chapter 1

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the legendary 'God of Shinobi'. The man to survive and win all the 'world' wars that unfortunately plagued their lands. He uses the word "world" as light as he could, due to the fact that he was one of the few people that knew of what lied beyond their, small in comparison, island.

Few people knew of this life changing fact, and he would love for it to stay that way. But he knew that nothing ever went 100 percent according to plan.

Like ever.

The reason he was thinking such thoughts? Well, it might've had something to do with bald, muscular man, with a curly beard that was the same color as a fire jutsu from an Uchiha, it seemed to glow like a live flame as well. The man stood an unusual height of 6"8' and had the most sun kissed skin any woman, and some men, would die to have. His skin almost looked…bronze, and his amber eyes just seemed to roar with a sense of power behind them.

The silence that belonged to the room was broken periodically due to the whirring, clicking, and clanking noises the man's mechanical, prosthetic leg made. The blacksmiths apron the man wore looked to be stained with grease stains and motor oil of so many different shades of black and brown that Sarutobi couldn't exactly make out the design that was underneath it all.

WHIIRR CLICK CLUNK

Sarutobi puffed some more of his pipe in an effort to ease his trained mental state. He resisted the urge to rub his temples and come off as more an old man to his visitor. He heard a shifting to the left of him, and spared a glance to the child that lay asleep on his couch. His red hair fell around his face like a bloody curtain and acted as a secondary cushion for his small head. As the child shifted around in his sleep, the white shirt with a red spiral on the chest of it crinkled and rode up, as did the loose navy blue shorts. His feet were currently bare, due to Sarutobi insisting that he keep them off when sleeping.

Hiruzen turned his eyes back toward the man, and spoke around his pipe. A talent he had mastered due to the want of being able to keep smoking and not going through the tedious task of relighting it, or risk the paperwork on his desk catching fire.

…on second thought…

No, Hiruzen shook the thoughts from his head. That wouldn't work anyways. He had tried it before, and the damn papers didn't even come out scorched. After that he gave in and succumbed to the will of the paperwork as his predecessors had before him.

Done with his trip down memory lane, Hiruzen addressed the matter the man in front of him posed," So, you wish to take Naruto away to this…Camp Jupiter and have him help with the prophesy that was dropped into your gods' laps unceremoniously?" He asked with a curious look on his face as puff of smoke came out of his pipe.

The man nodded his bald head, and the welder goggles that he had on the top of them threatened to fall down. He spoke in a deep rough voice that almost sounded as if he smoked too much tobacco through the years, but still had an understandable tone to it," Yes I do Hiruzen. With the prophecy now revealed, it has all of Olympus paranoid. Damn irritating if you ask me," he grumbled," I hardly get time to myself to work on some of my projects," He complained.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at this, he didn't seem worried," You don't seem as worried as the other are at this prophecy? Why is that?"

The burly man ended his grumbling and answered the question," Because I have no reason to. If what is to come is to come I know I will be prepared," He answered as he leaned back in the chair that made audible noises at the effort it took to hold up his weight," And I have something the others do not," He added with a smile on his face, as he looked over to the sleeping child.

Hiruzen noticed his look and his brow creased into a scowl," You wish to use Naruto, your son, as a weapon? As a failsafe in case things go bad?" Hiruzen has done some downright despicable things that he was going to take to the grave with him, but using a child for one's own personal gains, just to throw him away afterwards was something he would never condone. At that moment the image of his treacherous student flashed through his mind, but it was immediately dispelled due to years of practice.

The room temperature seemed to increase to Hiruzen in a flash. The heat just seemed to skyrocket, and due to it being a rather cool night, all chills Hiruzen might've had were vaporized on the spot. He looked onwards at the literally steaming man, and felt a chill run down his spine at the look he was being given. Now, if he was any other man he would've immediately crumbled into a sweating mess, but he hadn't gotten to live as long as he was, or get where he was due to being a weak willed worm. No, the only thing the heat did was make Hiruzen sit up a little higher in his chair, and take his hat off of his head and lay it down on his desk.

The Third Hokage looked the man's literally flaming gaze straight on and did not flinch as images of his own death by volcano and lava flashed through his head. He returned the look with a frigid one, as he stood by his accusation. From what he knew, these "gods" were as selfish, or more so, than some of the worst shinobi. He would not let Naruto be carted off into something like that. He would fight to his last breath against this" god" if it meant getting the time for Naruto to escape somewhere safe. He promised on his soul to the dying Kushina Uzumaki that he would take care of her baby boy, and that was what he intended to do.

As the stare down continued, the heat continued with it. In an effort to keep his skin from blistering sue to the heat, Hiruzen let loose some of his own formidable power. His body gained a dark blue hue to it, and the two warring energies clashed in the middle of the room. All while this was going on, the two elder did not notice the child begin to stir due to the high power levels.

The two adults noticed that their little battle was waking the child, and it would not be good for him to wake up right now, so they cut their powers off abruptly. It had an immediate effect, as the child stopped stirring, rolled over once more, and lied still again.

A sigh of relief escaped both of the men's lips, at the now resting fully child. The man, though, was still angry at the accusation against his person.

"How dare you, Hiruzen?" He asked dangerously. He did not get a reaction from his old friend, as he was as stoic as a brick wall at the moment. He continued on undeterred," You have known me for more than 20 years, and if you would assume that I would do something as…deplorable as that then I fear that your old age is getting to you more than I thought," He told him," I am not your old student. I am here for one reason, and one reason only and that is to help my son."

Sarutobi was still emotionless, as he listened to the word that were being spoken to him. He smiled a small smile, and spoke up," I assure you old friend that I am not growing senile any time soon. These old bones can still go a few rounds with the best of them, as you well know. I just wanted to make sure that your intentions were for the benefit of Naruto, and not your own," He said as he leaned back and relaxed," I have read up on what we have on the other "gods", and I assumed that all of you were the same in regards with dealing with humans, and their children. If I have offended you then I am sorry," He apologized sincerely.

The bearded man's eyes dimmed back down to their amber coloring, as he relaxed too," Yes, yes, apology accepted Hiruzen. I could see how you would get that idea, and you are not completely wrong in your assumptions. There are those that would commit such heinous acts, but I assure you that I am not one of them," his hand briefly rubbed his mechanical knee," I have felt what it was like to have your parents absolutely want nothing more than to leave you in a ditch to rot away and die," he spat," How they would only want me around because **I** am the one that forges **THEIR** weaponry and armor," He sighed sadly at the trip down memory lane," but I have gotten over it slightly, and don't really care anymore."

Hiruzen nodded his head solemnly. He had read up on the mythology of Hephaestus, and it was one of the saddest one he had ever read. To have your own mother toss you off of the cliff, crippling you and disfiguring you for life was something he couldn't begin to comprehend. This was one of the facts that pushed him to make his next move.

He puffed some more on his lightly scorched pipe," I want you to know that whatever comes your way. Whatever enemies you may face, you can count on me to lend you all of my power," Sarutobi promised and nearly laughed at the shocked look he was given.

Hephaestus laughed off the shock," You do not want to fight some of the enemies me and my kin have to fight Hiruzen. They are on a whole different level, and give us gods a hard time," He informed before laughing lightly," but the sentiment still means a lot."

Hiruzen smiled," Yes well, I'll have you know that we have our fair share of powerful people too. I trust you fully with what Naruto's safety, but I need you to promise me that you will make sure he grows up to be just like his father was, is. And someone his mother would be proud of. I want you to make him a capable young man when he grows up," He requested.

Hephaestus smiled a rare smile," There is only so much I can do if I don't want Zeus to catch me Hiruzen, but I can feel the potential, the drive, the fire in him, and all I have to do is feed it. The rest will be up to him," He told him.

Hiruzen nodded," Then you have my permission," He said.

Hephaestus nodded his thanks and clunked over to his son. His usual stoic gaze turned warm, as he looked down on his own flesh and blood. He knew he was meant for great things. If his mother was any indication, his attitude would surely bring a new flare to things. He also knew his other children would be welcoming to the new addition to the family, but there was still the question of which camp to take him to. Hephaestus cringed, as he got a slight headache at thinking of the other camp. The pain went away quickly, as he repressed the switch from Greek to Roman. He knew his two aspects weren't that different from each other like the others' were, but his Roman personality was stiffer and less creative when creating things. It was so boring and dull, which was the reason he stayed mostly in his Greek persona.

He ran his giant calloused hand through the familiar red hair that he had fell in love with, and the image of one of his beautiful wives flashed through his mind. Out of all of his wives, she was the one who had the most hold in his iron heart. Everything about her was just amazing that he was instantly star struck.

But that was a tale for another time.

He pushed some of his godly power through his hand, and saw the golden light. Without a word he waved a good-bye to his oldest friend and only friend who wasn't a Cyclops, and flashed out of the office.

He reappeared in one of his many estates that he had built throughout the world with Naruto cradled in his giant arms. Another smile graced his face as he felt his son snuggle into his arms. His children always seemed to melt his heart whenever he visited, and Naruto was no different it seemed.

Hephaestus had pre prepared this house for Naruto, and he would see it when he awoke. If Hephaestus's assumption were right then Naruto would be able to get everything started on his own. What some people didn't know was that Hephaestus's logic and knowledge was second only to Athena's, and all of his children were smarter than the average child. One needed it when working with such complicate machines.

Hephaestus staggered into the room he had prepared for Naruto, and lowered him into his bed. He tucked his son in with a warm, kind look in his stone hard eyes. He, unlike some of the others, paid very close attention to the children he did have, and sometime helped them out more than what was "recommended" by Zeus, but he could care less about those rules. If his own family was to neglect him and isolate him from the "family" then why should he abide by their rules?

He felt within himself his fire pit flare up, and he knew he had to go, or less his project be ruined. So, without a word he teleported away with his godly power to his personal forge, where he personal worked alone. As he appeared in the molten chamber, which was on the inside of a volcano mind you, he breathed in a refreshing breath of soot, smoke, oil, and different types of metals.

This was his personal holy grounds. Others had their gardens, or monuments, but he had no such thing. As a result his workplace was his version of one. It was by itself, barely a soul knew of it, and most importantly he was alone. Just like he wanted to be.

Now being there, he saw the pit flash golden and he rushed over to pull the item he had burning out of the flames. He willed his metal working gloves onto his hands, and grasped the tongs to be able to pull the item out of the golden flames.

Many did not know, but his godly powers also had a tiny fire affinity, and it turned out that, when he really focused, he could turn them gold. As a result he created his own personal blacksmithing pit to work on the more important pieces of work. Pieces like Athena's shield, Zeus thunderbolt, Ares's giant ass sword, and other things.

His thoughts shifted over to the unusual weapon that had come onto him when he first laid eyes on his son. The weapon was unusual in the sense that he had never made something like it before. Yes, he knew of the weapon, as what kind of weapon making god would he be if he didn't know of every creatable weapon in existence. It was to be a hard project, but he wouldn't have it any other way. So, with a grunt, the god got to work on his latest project. It wouldn't be good for him to become careless in his creating of weapons.


	2. Chapter 2: He Wakes Up

Yo, I'm back with a rather quick update of things. If you didn't catch it I fixed a few things I missed in ch.1, but I doubt you'd catch them right away they are that small. Uh, I don't have much to say, as I don't wan to ruin the chapter, but I can thank you all for reviewing, favoriting, and following. It means a lot to see that people are digging what I'm writing ya know.

kpsananimefan- Thanks man, and here is the more you spoke of

retreaver- Thanks for the kind words man. I hope I don't disappoint you as this story continues.

Black Wolf of Hueco Mundo- My first review for this fic , that makes you special. Thanks for the compliments and kind words. You don't even know how much it means to have some actually looking forward to your next chapter or something. I'll leave the potential pairing a secret for now, but there will be hints at it, but I Naruto won't immediately jump into it. You'll see as the story progresses.

That's it for me up here guys. The chapter is down there, and I hope you enjoy. I'll see you all on the next chapter. Don't forget to r&r, favorite, and follow. Your support means a lot.

* * *

"Ugh, come on! I can still fight!"- Speech

 **"Stupid humans, and their utter stupidity."- Kyuubi**

 _My entire body hurts so much.- Thoughts  
_

I do not own anything from this story at all. All rights got to the series' respective owners and creators

* * *

Naruto blearily opened his intense blue eyes, sat up, and stretched. He yawned and looked around the room and was immediately hit the feeling if unfamiliarity.

This was not his room, or the Hokage's office where he last remembered himself falling asleep at.

His analytical mind immediately began to analyze the room he was in. It was rather plain looking with plain white walls, a dresser in the corner, and a wooden nightstand next to his bed. _Whoever made this room just put in the bare minimum._ He swiveled his legs and hips off of the bed, and took a second for his feet to be acclimated to the cold wooden floor. He looked down to himself and breathed a sigh of relief in the fact that he still had on the same clothes as last night. It would've been really weird if someone decided to change his clothes when he was sleep.

His train of thought was immediately driven off the tracks, as he had to cover both of his eyes due to the sudden bright flash of golden light that appeared on his night stand. After the light show dimmed and went away, Naruto looked over his hand and saw the folded letter on his nightstand. Very warily, as letters did not just appear out of thin air, he opened it up and heard a thump. He looked down to his lap and picked up the small circular device. It was about the size of a bagel and looked very technically advanced. _More advanced than anything I've seen anyways_.

Back in the village, there most technically advanced device they had was a television, and even that was rather basic to him. He was able to pick one apart, piece by piece, and put it back together as if he didn't even touch it. He did that a lot with other things too. Microwaves, refrigerators, ovens, essentially anything he could get his hands on. You name it and he's tore it apart to its basic components and put it back together.

Anyways, Naruto focused his attention back to the device and began to prod at it, feeling his way around it. He could feel the rough ridges and blocky feel it had, so he assumed that it was something new and basic. _Ah, that's what I was looking for._ He felt the button he was looking for, but was not ready for the reaction it gave. The device began to shake uncontrollably in his hand. It began to shake so violently that he had to hold it down with both of his hands, less he risk it hopping out of the window or something.

Suddenly it stopped thrashing, but left his arms a vibrating mess.

"Biological Scanner initializing…," A robotic voice said.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the bagel sized device in his hand. Things just don't talk like that, but he was sure he heard it from the thing in his hand.

"Biological scan complete. Welcome, Naruto Uzumaki," It spoke again.

Before Naruto could react, from the middle of the device, a deep blue light shown out and projected itself out onto the floor. The light fizzled in and out here and there before finally stabilizing into a life size figure.

"Hello, is this thing on?" A deep rugged voice asked. The image shook a little, as the burly man adjusted the camera. Naruto narrowed his eyes, and set the projector down onto the bed. He walked forward cautiously, and stood right in front of the image. _If my thoughts are correct_. He swiped his hand at the image, and just like he suspected, it went completely through it.

He gasped before steeping back and looking at the man who the image was projecting. Naruto noticed that he was still fiddling with the camera. Naruto spoke up to get his attention," Uh, I know from experience that messing with something more than it should be will always end up blasting you back in the face," He said.

Immediately the man stopped messing with the camera and the image stopped shaking," Ah good, so I'm guessing you can see me," after he got a nod he continued," Good and I can see you. What you are looking at is an advanced image projector, or a hologram," He told him," I am talking to you this way and not directly due to the fact that me being there would raise too many questions, that I don't feel comfortable answering at the moment," Naruto raised an eyebrow. Who was this guy?

"Who are you?" He asked.

The man didn't move at the question," That is a loaded question that has multiple titles and answers to depending on who you talk to, but you, Naruto, can call me dad or whatever," He revealed.

 _Wait what?_ A tidal wave of confusion hit Naruto and he was left speechless. This was a big deal, no, a huge deal. This would change so much in his life! He had so many questions!

" **Calm down you fool! Stop and think!"** this caused Naruto to pause," **What about the very high chance that this man is lying?"**

Ah, and there he was. The almighty Kyuubi, the nine-tailed fox, who, oddly enough, didn't actually have all the features and characteristics to be deemed a fox. Fox's, from what he knew anyways, did not have rabbit ears or a human like body complete with five fingers and a thumb. But he digressed, the Kyuubi did actually make a valid point, which cut through the cloud of euphoria his mind was in and made him actually think about this.

There was a high chance that this man was lying, and he acknowledged that.

" _Thanks Kyu. I didn't actually realize that until you said something," He told the Kyuubi mentally._

This was a neat trick that he found out about after going into his mind, which he fixed up by the way, a sewer was totally insulting, and ripping off an edge of the seal that held the Kyuubi locked up. He didn't see the harm in letting him have a bit of freedom, and he was an interesting…being to talk to. When he wasn't sleeping or being a condescending dick.

" **Pfft, do not mention it human. Just be thankful that you have me here, or imagine the blunders you would get into,"** He told him before Naruto heard the heavy snored reverberate through his skull.

 _And there was the condescending dick I know_

Thanks to the Kyuubi, he now looked at the image of his 'father' with more caution and suspicion. He had some questions he wanted to ask to prove this man's worth.

"So you say you are my old man?" He got a nod," Well. I don't believe you. Old Man Hokage told me that my old man died fighting the Kyuubi," He stated and crossed his arms in a firm stance.

He wanted to see how this man reacted. That would be a step in determining if he was telling the truth or not.

Hephaestus nodded his head," Yes, I do remember telling that lie to Sarutobi, and requesting that he tell you it to keep my existence a secret from you until you were old enough, but times are changing Naruto," He said," and I needed to bring you hear as I believe you can change the direction the fates had set for us," He looked down and a little tense. He wasn't used to going into his deeper feelings like this with anyone anymore. He tried with Aphrodite, but that definitely didn't end well, and he was never able to talk with anyone on Olympus about how they felt, as they hardly acknowledged his presence there when he decided to show up. But for his son he would try. He always would try for his kids. He at least owed them that much for not being there," I, uh, I don't know how I can make you believe that I am your father, but I do know for a fact that you have my blood running through those veins of you. I can tell that you have more of your mom then me in you though," He said as he remembered his red haired fire cracker who somehow made him fall for her harder than any other woman before. Even his hard ass of a Roman side liked her.

Naruto stayed as stiff as a mountain at the mention of his mother, but did indulge in smiling a bit at the fact he acted like at least one of his parents. His heart beat hard in his chest, and his throat caught in his throat as he thought of the mother he would probably never meet. How he would never hug her, or have her tell him "good job son. I'm proud of you" like he'd seen other moms do with their kids. He needed to know more," Tell me," His hair shadowed his eyes as he swallowed the lump in his throat," Tell me more about her," He looked up with bleary, wet eyes," please?"

Hephaestus almost could hear his heart crumble as he caught site of the sadness on his son' face. It just looked so wrong there. Like it was a slight against the Creator himself to make such a soul cry," Your mother was a lot like what I heard about you," He began and his eyes took a misty veil over them as he reminisced about some of the greatest years of his long life," Your mother was about as hard headed as anyone could be, and stubborn as a bull too. She didn't stop until she got what she wanted, and there was no one that would, or could, stand in her way either. He was a red hot firework ready to be set off on anybody, and fates help whoever was in her sights at that moment," he smiled a bit," You won't believe how many times that was me suffering her wrath," he chuckled," She was a bit of a prankster like you were, mischievous, but also as cunning as a fox when she needed to be. She was arguably the greatest woman I have ever laid eyes on. She was a lovely, energetic, funny, loud mouthed, red haired, woman who I had no business even being with. Don't get me started on the look of pure happiness, pure euphoria she had when the doctor told her she was pregnant with you," He sighed nostalgically," We both were so elated to know that we were going to have a child, we didn't know what to do. Anyways, I still can't believe that me, the black sheep who was thrown out, was the lone soul to win her heart, and vice-versa," His eyes hardened and he tightened his fists hard enough to where Naruto could see the bulging veins in his forearms," I still have nightmares about the night I couldn't save her life. For all the power I have, for all the intellect I possess. I couldn't save her life."

Naruto could feel the remorse in his voice, as he spoke of his failure. Either this man was a great actor, which he doubted as he wiped the tears from his eyes, or he was telling the truth. The raw emotion in his voice sent waves through Naruto, and he swore he could feel the truth radiating from his words. He didn't know if he could call this man his dad for the moment, but he felt that could get there eventually. It felt good to know your mother and father were excited at the notion of having you. To know that they loved you unconditionally. Naruto felt as if a giant weight was lifted off of his shoulder at that moment, and smiled so wide he could feet he muscles in his face struggle to sustain the stretch," I think I believe you…" He trailed off as he realized he never got his actual name.

Hephaestus caught on and answered," Hephaestus, My name is Hephaestus, and this will come as a shock, but I'm a god. Greek to be specific," He told him.

At this Naruto began to laugh a belly laugh. It was too funny that his old man thought of himself as a god. Everyone knows that there was only Kami and the Shinigami.

Somewhere an orange haired teen sneezed.

His laugh continued on before he noticed Hephaestus, no, dad, wasn't laughing along. He stopped laughing, but continued to smile in amusement and asked," What? You aren't serious are you? You aren't a god."

It was at this moment Naruto felt his perception of the world turn on its head, as he suddenly felt himself go upside down with his feet dangling from absolutely nothing. He still had his doubt, but those were soon assuaged as a fiery pit opened up beneath him. The pit spouted fire periodically and threatened to burn off his hair and eyebrows. He shook his hands frantically before yelling," Okay, okay! I believe you! Just put the pit away and put me down!"

In a flash the hole swallowed itself and Naruto's sudden state of defying gravity stopped completely. As a result he landed on top of his skull with a dull THUNK. "Owww," He complained as he recovered and rubbed his bruised cranium," couldn't you have set me down easier?"

He saw the mischievous smirk across his dad's face," But that wouldn't possibly be funnier."

Naruto just grumbled before standing up," Okay, so I guess you are a god. What does that mean exactly? Am I a half god or something," He asked.

Hephaestus smirked," I'm glad you asked."

* * *

A few hours later Naruto, who had sat down as the explanation went a little longer than he expected. All the information made his head spin and he had trouble remembering the finer points," So I'm this thing called a half-blood?" A nod," and as I'm a half-blood all these different types of monsters will come after me, looking to have me for lunch," Another nod," Which is why I'm here, as these monsters can't tell where I am due to the special properties this place has," yet another nod," I'm supposed to train here for a few years before you deem me ready to actually leave and visit this camp of other half-bloods like me , where you will then claim me as your child where I will meet the other children, my brothers and sisters, you had," a sheepish nod," By the way, if I see you, I'm going to punch you in the jaw for having so many kids with different wives. So, is that the gist of it?"

"Yes, that essentially sums it up. I will send you to Camp Jupiter, where you will live from then on, training with the half-bloods there. Ah, word of warning. They might be a little bit of hard asses, as that's just how they are," He warned.

Naruto just nodded, already forming plans for several pranks unknown to his father. He recalled everything in his head one more time before addressing his dad," Okay, I got it dad. I won't disappoint you or mom. I'll be the strongest demi-god in the world! Just you watch me!" He promised.

Hercules flashed through Hephaestus's mind. _I wouldn't mind my son taking the title of strongest from that arrogant half-blooded son of Zeus_. That would sure show his family that his kids weren't just for creating weapons and armor for people.

His thoughts were interrupted, as his son spoke up again," So when do I start my training?" He asked.

Naruto was excited to start. In his mind he reasoned that faster he got stronger, the earlier he would bet to this awesome camp his dad spoke of. He wanted to get started right away. He didn't want to let his parents down. He would show the world just what a son of Hephaestus, or Vulcan his dad said to call him as when he got to the camp, could do.

Hephaestus smiled and tried not to laugh at his son's eagerness. He looked like a red haired puppy," You can begin right now Naruto. I have set up some automatons, which will each teach you a different subject, downstairs in the training room. All you have to do is turn them on, one at a time, and they will then turn off when they feel your lesson for the day is done," He explained.

Naruto nodded rapidly before zooming out of the room. He had to stop suddenly at the door, his bare feet screeching across the wooden floor. He turned around and regarded his father with a shy but happy look," Uh, thanks…dad. Thanks for, ya know, not being dead and all, and telling me about mom," He smiled brightly," I promise, I will make you guys proud of me, and Naruto Uzumaki never goes back on his promises!" he finished and then zoomed out of the room leaving the holographic Hephaestus behind.

Hephaestus looked at the open door in a reserved manner and spoke aloud," Oh, you don't know how proud me and your mother already are of you, Naruto," His look turned hard," I just hope I can prepare you for the hardships you will encounter in the future. Things are changing, and I don't think anybody is prepared for it."

With that the holographic image dispersed and cut away, leaving a shaking and smoldering pile of hot metal.

Hephaestus turned away from the magical camera, and walked back over to his forge where he had his latest master piece laying on a table, covered with a golden cloth. This was the weapon he had forged for his son the night before. He had stayed up through the night, it wasn't like he needed sleep or anything anyways, and poured all of his skill and finesse into making it. His children deserved the weapons of the highest caliber. Well, the one's that liked fighting anyways.

He took the covering away and regarded the weapon with a proud look. _This'll show that big-headed monkey what's what_. People thought that Greeks were only able to make swords, spears, shields, and sometimes axes. That was true regarding the amateur smiths, but a master like him, and a few Cyclops, were able to create an assortment of weapons.

And this was no different.

He returned the covering on top of the weapon, and turned away from it. Suddenly he heard a **WHOOSH,** and he willed his hammer into his hand in a flash of gold, as he shifted into an attack stance. He pivoted onto his left foot and swung his hammer horizontally with the intentions of taking whoever it was head off. All he felt was wind as he hit absolutely nothing. At this he immediately knew who it was, and holstered his giant war hammer over his massive shoulder.

He turned and regarded his brother with a neutral look," Brother."

Hermes stood up straight from his crouched position and spoke," Hello to you too, Heph. I still see you're trying to take my head off with that hammer of yours," His tone turned teasingly," I still think you're trying to compensate for something."

Hephaestus sighed and set his hammer down against the table he had Naruto's weapon on and turned around again to talk to his most tolerable sibling," What are you here for Hermes?" He asked stoically.

Hermes put his hand over his heart in a dramatic manner," Oh, how you wound me Heph. Can't a brother just come down here into this, this," he looked around and waved a hand trying to find the correct words," humble abode and talk to his other brother?" He asked innocently.

Hephaestus wasn't amused," I'd say you're full of shit, but we both know gods don't do that. You, nor anybody else, comes looking for me unless they want something, or I'm needed in a meeting," He ignored the wince Hermes tried to hide at the callous point he made," So which is it Hermes?"

Hermes visibly deflated and he rubbed his eyes. Now that he wasn't moving around and being annoying, Hephaestus could see the exhaustion in his face. Whatever was going on must have Zeus in quite the tizzy if he got Hermes working like this.

Hermes sighed in exhaustion," Zeus has had me zooming across the world, ordering all gods, minor or not, to come to Mt. Olympus. He's been looking increasingly paranoid over this prophecy, and he told me that he had an idea that will deal with it."

Hephaestus nodded his head. He'd let his brother off easily this time, and not cause a ruckus. He was the most tolerable of his family, and the only one who willingly talked to him. So, he'd cut him some slack this time.

"Okay then, let's go Hermes," He told him.

Hermes just nodded his head before the both of them vanished in a flash of gold, not knowing how much this meeting would change things.


	3. Chapter 3: It begins

Yo, I'm here again with another rather quick chapter. Don't expect these too often, as I still have school and a ton of work to do. So, again I don't have much to say, and there is a time skip in this chapter, as I want to get to the start of The Son of Neptune as fast as I can. We get a little taste of what Naruto has been working on in secret, and I can honestly say it's pretty cool. Uh, so yea, read & review if you would kindly. A favorite and follow also go a long way. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you guys later.

Black Wolf of Hueco Mundo- Yeah, I'm glad to see that you're excited to see his weapon, and I promise you that it is one that you have never seen before. It's one that I think would fit Naruto way better than a sword, and the reasoning behind it is also sound. You got that right, Zeus wouldn't be Zeus if he wasn't paranoid.

Assassins hunter- I'm glad that you think this is awesome, and I hope that you stick around for the long haul.

ZeWi- No, as Hestia has been shown to only stick to herself despite being about family. Granted she is friendlier to him than anyone else is, but she does not go out of her way to talk to him. Plus I was just making it more dramatic, as that's what people who complain about stuff usually do and gods are no different

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"So what do you say?"- Speech

 _I can't believe he would turn me down like that- Thoughts_

I don't own anything in this fic, characters or otherwise, as they all belong to their original creators.

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Let's Begin Ch.3 shall we?...

 _Where is this place?_ Honestly, he'd been walking for a while now, and was starting to get annoyed. The sun was beginning to go down, and his feet were hurting from all the walking he was doing. It didn't help that he had somehow made a wrong turn and landed himself smack dab in the middle of some woods. He reasoned that he would have to make camp soon, and with the magical sac he had over his shoulder, it wouldn't be a problem.

He wiped his brow with the back of his hand to get rid of the sweat that had accumulated there as a result of the laborious physical activity of traversing the hills and brambles this forest had. He was careful in avoiding the sharp pointy ends of the branches as his sleeveless shirt offered him no protection against them. He was also lucky that his dad had made him some durable pants too. He said something about them having a layer of armor within the seams.

"Gods dammit!" He yelled in frustration," Does this stupid forest ever end?!" He screamed out.

He honestly didn't expect an answer, which was why when he got one his heart almost jumped out of his chest.

"Yes, it does end, but I would be surprised if you somehow made it out of here on your own," A mature, feminine voice told him.

The voice startled him good, but he had enough logic to plant himself into a defensive stance with his fists up. He paced in a circle as his sharp eyes darted around the vegetation with blurring speed. Despite his searching, he could not find a trace of whoever, or whatever had said that, so he decided to take another route.

"Who are you? What do you mean I won't be able to make it out of here on my own?" He asked in a serious tone. Now was not the time to play around. If this person, monster, or whatever was able to avoid his senses, then he needed to be on his guard. He stretched his senses as far as he could, oh how he wished he didn't skip out on the sensory training now, in an effort to catch something out of the ordinary in the trees and shrubbery. The sound of breathing, the silent padding of footsteps, dammit even the sound your eyelids make when you blink. He looked for all of these, but did not find one.

This shocked him, and made him raise his guard even more. This thing, as he ruled it out of being a human die to its abnormal stealth skills, was completely invisible. It was like a ghost. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of it being a ghost. He absolutely hated ghost with a burning passion. If it was possible, he would punch each and every ghost he ever met in the face, no questions asked.

His mind tuned its self-back to reality as he heard the snapping of a twig behind him. With superb reflexes, he pivoted towards the direction it came from, but found nothing.

"Hmm, reflexes and senses aren't too bad. That's better than most that come into my domain," The female voice spoke again.

Naruto ran his tongue over his drying lips, as his muscles tensed and he clenched his gloved hands. _What was this lady talking about?_

"What are you talking about, lady? There are others that have been in here?" He asked to the ethereal voice. A plan popped into his head at that moment. He would keep her talking in an effort to triangulate her where her voice was exactly coming from. He smirked a little as she answered.

"Yes, this forest. You are not the first to step foot in here, and you are definitely not going to be the last. A lady has to eat you know," The voice said chillingly.

 _Did she just say what I think she did?_ Oh no, Uh-uh. He was not going to be eaten today. Especially by some coward who was afraid to show themselves. He just needed to keep her talking, and he would have her position locked down.

"You, uh, you eat the people that come in here?" He asked as a bead of sweat dripped down his face.

"Oh gods no. Why would I eat everyone that came through my forest," She said and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief," I only eat the ones that look absolutely mouthwatering, and you just jumped to the top of my list!"

"Oh, shit!" Naruto yelled out as he dodged the lunge that would've taken his head from his shoulders. He tumbled forward underneath the big black shape that flew overhead and landed in a crouch a few meters away. Quickly, he turned around and got back into his stance like he was taught to do countless of times. He crouched, almost hunched back, with his hands open palmed in front of him. He officially didn't have a name for it, as it was just a combination of some of the wrestling techniques the Greeks used, Capoeira, a little Muay Thai, and a bit of boxing. As it turned out, these all made a deadly combination, when he was finally able to put them together.

He driven out of memory lane as his danger sense tingled, and he cartwheeled out of the way of another lunge. His cartwheels turned into backflips as he needed to get some breathing room. As the sufficient distance was acquired, Naruto was able to get a good look at his attacker, and grit his teeth at the challenge it posed.

It was the biggest wolf he had ever seen, real or otherwise. It was the size of a bear, no bigger than a bear. It was like a bear and a wolf had a child, added a bit of testosterone and some bull, and this thing was the result. It had a reddish brown fur that seemed to blend in with the shadows the trees were giving, and the most pure silver eyes Naruto had ever seen. If Naruto wasn't afraid for his life at the moment then he might've considered calling such a monster beautiful, as its features were exotic and eye capturing. It growled, low and monstrous, and Naruto was half tempted to take a step back. He had to consciously force his legs not to move from their position.

Given the terrain he knew he wouldn't be able to out run it. He would have to try and subdue it or kill it if it came to that, but looking at the giant beast, he didn't even know if it was possible. He caught the wolf's powerful hind legs tense up, and Naruto readied himself for the lunge he was sure was coming his way. As he predicted, the wolf lunged at him, eating up the good 20 feet he put between them in one jump. He was ready and let his weight drop down, putting himself on his back. At that exact moment he kicked his legs up and caught the wolf mid lunge in its soft underbelly.

The upwards kick he gave it with both of his feet winded the beast, and halted its momentum. Still on his back Naruto brought his knees to his chest, and fired them back upwards, throwing the wolf into the sky.

The wolf yelped in pain and surprise, and was unable to stop its meteor like descent through the branches of several trees. Naruto heard the loud **THUMP** that accompanied the wolf's touchdown, and stood there waiting for its rebuttal.

Only thanks to reflexes honed through grit and determination was Naruto able to sway his head to the side enough to dodge the slash that was sent his way. He felt his face, and felt the blood on his fingers. _What was that?_ There was nothing he could see. No projectile that he could see was sent his way, but he was still cut. His senses flared up again, and he was sent into a series of rapid dodges. He twisted, flipped, cartwheeled, back flipped, and ducked under all of the invisible projectiles that were sent his way.

By the time they stopped he was left panting slightly at the exertion of dodging those projectiles that had bullet like speed. His shirt and pants had tears all through them, and he could tell that he would need to replace them after he got out of this forest.

The wolf padded back into the clearing, and Naruto narrowed his eyes in anger. The wolf looked to be almost carefree. Like it had decided that he wasn't a threat.

Mistake number one.

Naruto decided to go on the attack this time, and rushed towards the wolf. He saw the wolf tense, and Naruto threw a feint. The wolf fell for it and was open to the devastating left hook that knocked its head sideways. A downward right came next, and smashed into the wolf's maw with the force of a freight train.

His momentum didn't halt. Naruto gripped the back of the wolf's head and drove it into his rising knee. He smiled a bit as he heard a satisfying crunch of bone that signified he broke something in there. Disoriented from the knee, the wolf was susceptible to the next two that came its way. The two knee's connected cleanly and with loud **WHAM** s that did devastating damage to the wolf.

Naruto was prepared to throw one last knee, but was interrupted by something grasping onto his ankle. He looked down and saw a tail there. _Oh shit_.

"Ahhh!" He yelled.

The tail reeled itself back to its owner and whipped the poor Naruto around like a rag doll before. The surprisingly strong tail whipped Naruto around before sending him away. Naruto's back connected with a tree and cracked its thick trunk. The impact caused a serious amount of pain and made him gag on his own spit. He choked out a yell and slid down to the grassy floor.

"Uggh, that hurt you stupid wolf," He gritted out, as he stumbled to his feet. He growled low in anger, as he saw the satisfied smirk on the wolf's face. He grew a smile of his own as the wolf winced in pain at the action of smiling. That told him that he had hurt the ridiculously sized animal. That as good.

 _No more Mr. Nice Guy. Time for some payback._

He breathed in deep through his nose, and put both of his hands against the trunk of the tree he had just hit. His veins bulged and his muscles flexed at what he was doing. Heavy breaths came from his nose and mouth, as a vein bulged and threated to pop in his forehead.

" **YAAAHHH**!"

With a mighty bellow the eight feet tall, three feet thick tree was ripped from its earthy confines. Naruto looked on dangerously at his enemy. His muscles tensed and rippled beneath his slightly tan exposed skin, as he hung onto the tree and pivoted his hips. He took a forceful step that cratered the ground, and whirled the tree towards his target. Despite its astonishing size and stature, the tree moved with the speed of a professional baseball swing, and connected with the wolf's side. The leaves and branches of the tree shook and caught the wolf in their grasp. Its fur was caught, and it had no escape.

His fingers dug into the thick brown bark of the tree, and cracked the trunk. He was pushing his muscles far beyond what was humanly capable, and was succeeding with amazing results. Continuing with his swivel that was beyond all human comprehension, Naruto rotated his entire body left and with it went the wolf.

The wolf's eyes bulged and spittle and golden blood came flying from its mouth. The wolf was sent careening away at top speeds from the green head of the tree, and into the ground. Its body dug a long jagged trench through the unforgiving dirt. The entire area shook at the impact and what birds remained scattered away into the sky. Naruto's arms and legs shook in exertion at his previous actions. He felt his arms give out, and he unwillingly dropped the large tree in front of him.

 _There, that had to have done it._

Nothing could've survived that hit. He was sure of it.

The wolf stirred.

His eyes widened at the durability of this wolf. It entire rib cage should've been crushed. There was no way it could get up from that. It was impossible.

The wolf began to stand up.

He needed to think of something, and quick. His arms were out of commission, probably with fractured bones and torn muscles and ligaments. Eh, it was better than the last time he tried using his godly strength. At least his arms were still connected to his body. He suppressed the memory of that day, and began to think of a way to put the wolf down for good.

He was still able to use his legs, and the tree was still there. A light bulb went off in his head, and he got an idea.

He channeled his godly powers again, this time through his legs. His legs shined a mystical gold, and all of the muscles in them bulged and became more pronounced.

" **YYYYAAAAAHHHH!"** He yelled out as he straight kicked the trunk of the tree towards the wolf.

It all went in slow motion. His foot connected with the brown trunk of the tree with a bang. His foot broke apart the upper layer of the bark the tree held and made a crack through the entire thing. It was like a gunshot went off, as the tree was fired away from his young body. Literally shockwaves of power rippled away from the tree and bent the other gigantic trees backward. A misty trail of golden miasma was left in the wake of the tree turned projectile as it ran its way through the ground like a swimmer through water. Dirt, grass, and rocks were bulldozed through and turned into smithereens as the tree continued chugging through the earth.

It happened in a split second, and the wolf was give no time to react. The tree connected with the wolf, but even the wolf's impressive stature could do little to stop the tree. It continued on pushing the wolf through acres and acres of forest. Knocking down trees, uprooting the grass, destroying the rock, and carving a harsh and rugged gorge through the ground. Debris flew through the air and was sent off and away to only the gods know where, as the tree continued on.

By the time Naruto could hear no more sounds of movement from the tree, he couldn't even see it. All that was left was a gaping dark hole that he couldn't see into due to ti being nighttime. He breathed a sigh of relief, but was quickly forced to wince as his arms throbbed painfully, and now so did his right foot. _I need more training in using dad's super strength. It tears my body up too much for me to be able to defend myself afterwards. I would be severely handicapped if something were to attack me as I currently am._

At that moment he heard a low growl come from the shadows of the forest, and whirled around on one leg to see just what it was. He narrowed his eyes do he could get a better look, and stumbled back at what he saw.

Those same silvery eyes.

A cold sweat broke out on his brow, as more and more pairs of bright silver eyes appeared in the dark. All around him they appeared numbering within the hundreds. They all stared at him unflinching, unblinking. Naruto's breathe quickened as an out of this world pressure slowly surrounded his very being, constricting his heart to very slow beats.

Ba-dum

Where was that noise coming from? He whirled around again, and locked eyes with the silver ones.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

They all looked the same dammit! He was out numbered for the most part, and he didn't think these guys took too kindly to him kicking a tree at one of their own.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

Was that his heart that was beating so loud inside his own ear drums? His pupils shrunk as a foreign feeling over took his entire soul.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

Fear. It was fear. Droplets of sweat slid down his face and off of his chin, as his eyes darted around like humming birds at the numerous eyes that seemed to give of a sickening feeling of malice. He felt like a mouse trapped in a cage of cats that have not eaten in weeks.

Ba-Dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

 _Make it stop!_ His ear drums threated to burst on the spot. He clenched his eyes in pain at this sensation that had a cold grip on his heart, on his lungs. He felt bile rising in the back of his throat, and almost choked on it. He involuntarily threw his hands on top of his head in an effort to ease the pain that was happening in there.

The pain was too great. It was pain with which the likes of anybody should never have to endure, especially not a ten year old at that. _Please make it stop!_ A soundless scream came from his throat as he threw his head back in pain. His site began to darken, and he began to lose feeling throughout his body. Slowly, oh so very slowly, the shadows began to creep into the corners of his eyes. Complete darkness, the abyss itself, began to devour his conscious, and there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

Deep within Naruto body, something stirred. A ruby red eyes with a vertically black slit pupil snapped wide open, and then narrowed as he took in his containers current state. He scoffed at his utterly disgraceful weakness. It was humiliating to be inside such a weak fool, granted he had been getting better. He would help him this time, as he felt the intent behind this…power, and could tell it was a test of some sort. One that should his container fail, would mean the ending of his life.

So, he would help him. Just this time, as it was in his best interest to anyways. This power was one he had not felt since he was just a kit. He was all too familiar with this power.

The power of a _god._

With his mind made up the Kyuubi surged his almighty power through the bars of his prison, and he could immediately feel the effect it had. Everything was brightening, so the hard work was done for the moment. Now he had to get to work in fixing the utterly destroyed limbs of his jailer. _At least he didn't blow them off this time._ The Kyuubi laid his giant head back down atop his crossed hands, and immediately fell asleep. He had healed his container so many times he could do it in his sleep, and that's what he was going to do.

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Back in reality the darkness began to edge away. Slowly all of its contents were drained away and Naruto was able to breathe again. His legs wobbled as his knees gave out. He collapsed onto all fours and immediately began to wretch up the contents of his stomach. In few seconds his stomach was emptied, and the nauseas feeling had passed.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

He heard the padding of feet coming in his direction, but couldn't muster the strength to stand. _I guess this is how I die, eh? In a pile of my own vomit?_ His eyes narrowed. _Fuck that_. On pure will power alone, Naruto lifted his head to stare at his would be killer. His eyes turning as cold as glaciers, as he bared his sizable canines.

His growing stopped in shock as who was coming towards him, came into the light of the full moon. It was that rust colored wolf. The same one that should've been dead. Well that sucked major balls. As he stared at the wolf that he just couldn't seem to kill, he was entranced by the silver eyes it carried within its sockets.

"You have formidable power young half-blood, but I can feel it is not all what it could be yet," a familiar feminine voice said.

Naruto's eyebrows rose in shock. He knew that voice, and the realization of where it came from made even less sense.

"You have passed my test, young son of the smith, but I can feel that there will be more to come as you grow. You have earned my recommendation, and are welcome into Camp Jupiter. May you bring glory to Rome and protect her people as many have done before you," She said.

Slowly he began to feel drowsy. His limbs became as heavy as led, and he couldn't keep his eyes open for much longer. The last thing he saw before he entered the realm of sleep was the dastardly beautiful silver eyes.

"Good luck, young Uzumaki," was the last thing he heard before he collapsed in his own vomit.

Unknown to him, the very next morning two sentries of Camp Jupiter would see his unconscious body being carried by two wolves. The sentries would see the sight and immediately relieve the wolves of their load, and began carrying the child who was deemed worthy by Lupa to the medical bay.

The two sentries, each having one of Naruto's arms slung over his shoulder, would cause quite the rumor mill, as they walked through the middle of the plaza towards the hospital. What no one could tell, though, was the impact this child would have on two of Rome's children.

A girl with deep dark brown, almost black, eyes looked down at the injured child from her window as she got ready for her daily duties. _Those wounds are from Lupa herself. To give the boy so many speaks volumes of either his strength or weakness. The First Cohort does only take the best after all, and it would be a shame for that Grace boy to somehow get him under his wing like he's been doing._ So, she decided to go. It wouldn't hurt anyone if she was just a few minutes late. It also wouldn't hurt to see if she could somehow gain another ally in the camp. _Where did that come from?_

A young boy with electric blue eyes halted his steps on the daily path he took to his usual training area, and looked on with calculative eyes. He saw the cuts in the boy's clothes and knew where they came from. He was the most familiar with them, and for her to give that boy so many…he must be something special. _The Fifth Cohort could use a new recruit._ With that in mind, he turned on his heel and began following the two sentries to the hospital.

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He appeared in a swirl of water atop of the tallest building in the city. He looked around before he caught his brother leaning over the rails, looking out across the horizon.

"What did you call me for in such a hurry brother? You do know that you are not the only one who has a kingdom to run?" He asked jovially. His joy was short lived as his brother turned towards him with a heavy frown.

"Now is not the time for games brother. A great atrocity has been done to me, and I wish to right it before I have to take more drastic measures," He spoke in a grave tone.

"Whatever do you mean by that, brother? What has happened?" He asked.

"Look up into the sky, and tell me, what do you see?" He told him.

The man looked up to the sky boringly for a few seconds before confusion over took his features," A-all I see are storm clouds. Thunder clouds to be more specific, but there is no thunder or lightning. Brother, did you need help making a storm again? I do know we're getting old, but surely a storm is well within your abilities?" He teased.

"This is no laughing matter," He refuted quickly and caused his sibling to be silent," There is no thunder and lighting because my Master Bolt has been taken from me," He looked out to his brother in the corner of his eye," And I think you know who did it?" The clouds rolled across the sky and became even darker.

The seas began to shift and move, twisting and turning. Waves began to pick up and the winds increased just a bit. The commander of the oceans looked dangerously at his brother," You would do better than try and accuse me brother. You know the laws as well as I do. I cannot touch your weapon, as you cannot touch mine," He stated. The oceans all across the world came to life, as their master's ire began to build.

"Yes, I know that, but there is nothing in there that speaks of having someone else do it for you. Someone like a half-blooded son who you tried to keep a secret from me," He revealed.

Took quick for the ruler of the skies to react, he had a trident to his jugular. His eyes blazed an almighty electric blue, but he knew without his weapon of power he was at a severe disadvantage.

The one holding the three pronged trident breathed heavily through his nose before leaning in to whisper," If you so much as touch a single hair on either of their heads, I swear to you brother, you will have the battle of which you have never seen before," He whispered dangerously.

He gulped and a small drop of ichor ran down his neck," You would wage war against all of Olympus for some half-breed and his mortal mother?"

"Yes," In that moment he dissipated into a fountain of mist, and left his brother atop the skyscraper with a cut on his neck.

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End Chapter


	4. Chapter 4: So I'm At This Camp Right

Yo, I'm back with another update, as these chapters just keep flowing off of my fingers. It's crazy! No, but seriously, I cannot stop writing chapters for this fic until I probably reach the beginning of canon, which is in a few chapters. Now I wanted to address some important things. One being the pairing for this fic. I already had a girl in mind to be his partner and the whole dynamic of how it would play out, and I have ultimately decided with staying with her. Maybe, just maybe, there might be the probability of a harem, but that is a slim chance. Second thing is Naruto's weapon of choice. I will tell you this, it is not a sword, or any type of sword. His weapon is one that I have only seen him use in a fic around three time at most. I truly believe that you will be surprised at my choice of weaponry, and I do believe that it fits this Naruto well. Anyways that's it for me look out for the next chapter heading your way soon, and I hope to see you guys there. It's going to be electrifying. If you can SMELL what COOLNESS121 IS COOKING, then leave a review, favorite, and follow for ya boy.

Shout outs to the rock for his pure awesomeness.

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Kage88- thanks for checking this out man, and I hope you stick around.

Ejammer- thanks for the kind words man, and I'll give your ideas some thought.

Black Wolf of Hueco Mundo- Yo, I thank you for the kind words on that brief fight scene, and I promise you they will only get better. I'm glad I surprised you with Lupa. I tried to bring out her attitude towards arriving kids to the Roman camp and how it said she tested them, and deemed them worthy or not. That won't happen fully in this chapter, but you get a promise of what's to come. Poseidon does _not_ mess around when it comes to the Jackson's, and in my fic I'll actually give a legit reason.

"For Rome!"-Speech

 _Things are going exactly to plan. -_ Thoughts

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Ch.4 So I'm at this camp right…

When Naruto awoke, he immediately had to shut his eyes and wince. _Dammit, who turned on the sun?_ Naruto covered his eyes and slowly opened them, as to get adjusted to the light that was in the room. As his eyes became adjusted, his senses came to the forefront and he started to analyze the room he was in.

First thing he noticed was that the room was white.

So. Much. White.

The only place he could recall having so much white in one place was a hospital room, and that's where he guessed he was. This hospital room wasn't that different but for one thing. On the wall was golden wreath with the letters SPQR placed inside of it in all caps. Above the design were the words, 'Camp Jupiter' also. _So I guess I've made it then_. He laid his head back against the surprisingly comfortable pillow and breathed out a sigh of relief. That wolf he fought was the toughest challenge he had fought yet. He literally ripped his body apart to defeat it, and even then he wasn't able to put it down for good. Granted he was only ten, but if he couldn't even defeat a wolf, then what good would he be against an actual giant, hellhound, or gods forbid a Titan?

His reflective thoughts were interrupted by the door slamming open and impacting against the wall. The sudden intrusion and noise startled him, and reflexively he grabbed the nearest weapon he could think of.

A pillow.

Naruto readied the pillow in front of his face like a shield, but ultimately did not need it.

"…ammit Ramirez. Watch where you're going," A golden blonde haired kid said as he struggled to rise up from the tile flooring.

"Well I would watch where I was going if I could, Grace, but your big head got in _my_ way," The girl with deep brown hair fired back. She was in the same predicament as the blonde kid, as Naruto could tell, as they were both tangled up on the floor.

"What did you say, Ramirez!? I couldn't hear it. It might be because of that giant forehead of yours," the blonde kid fired back as he was finally able to stand up.

"I do not have a big forehead, Grace. Maybe since your head is so big, it's blocking out your ear's ability to hear correctly," She said heatedly as she also stood up, red in the face with rage.

The blonde haired kid didn't take that one sitting down, as he immediately got into the tanned girl's face. Now that Naruto got a good look at them he could see that they were stark opposites. On one hand you had the slightly pale, blue eyed, blonde haired kid. On the other you had a girl with perfectly tanned skin, deep chocolate brown eyes, and dark brown hair with mixing shades of brown ranging from medium to almost black. It was like looking at night and day.

"Oh is that right, Ramirez? Well, I hope you are ready to get your butt kicked tonight during the War Game. Cuz the Fifth Cohort is going to shove those sticks the First has farther up their stuck up asses," He told her with a confident smile on his face. He crossed his arms across his leather purple shirt and leaned more on one side of his hips.

The girl was highly amused by his claim, and scoffed at it," You think the 'Failure Fifth' Cohort will be able to beat us? The First has yet to lose a War Game since I joined it, and I don't see it losing one now," She shot with a similar smug grin on her face that knocked the boy's off.

The blonde haired boy growled in frustration," What are you doing here anyways Ramirez? Do I look like I enjoy you following me around everywhere I go?"

Ramirez frowned," Why would I want to follow you, you blonde haired dolt. I have way better things to do than to follow you around," She replied.

"Oh yeah, then why are you here?" He prodded further with a raised brow.

The girl rolled her eyes and put a hand on her hip," None of your business, _Grace_ ," She bit out," Why are _you_ here?"

"None of _your_ business, _Ramirez_. Now why don't you skedaddle on along? I do believe the First's designated team training session is going on right now, and I don't think little Ms. Perfect would want to miss it," He teased sarcastically. He then put both hands on his cheeks in a bad imitation of a horrified face," Oh, the horror. Little Ms. Perfect's perfectness will be ruined. What a shame," He sarcastically fired.

Naruto saw the look on the girl's face, and swore he saw her eyes flash red before she screamed," That's it Grace! I can't stand you for any longer than I already have! Uggh!" She groaned out as she ran both hands through her long curly hair. She curtly turned around and began to walk out of the room," You better hope I don't see you tonight _Grace,"_ She hissed out angrily as she gripped the door handle so tight Naruto could hear the groans of metal it gave out," Because if I do I am going to skewer you and mount your head on my wall!" With that she opened and slammed the door shut with a **SLAM**.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've heard it a thousand times already," The blonde haired boy murmured to himself. Naruto saw him turn his way and flash a sparkling, friendly smile as if what just happened was normal. He stepped towards Naruto, who still had the pillow ion his clutches, and held out a hand to shake.

Naruto looked to the hand and back to the friendly face before slowly gripping it firmly. Naruto smirked at the wince the boy gave as they gripped each other's hands. Naruto noticed the tattooed SPQR in the boys forearm, but didn't speak up about it. They shook hands once, before letting go at the same time.

Naruto smirked a little and spoke up first," So, who are you and what was that all about? That girl looked ready to carry out her threat right then and there," Naruto pointed out. He put the pillow back down on the bed before swinging his legs around and over the bed.

"I'm Jason Grace, son of Jupiter," The newly introduced Jason said before throwing a thumb in the direction of the door," and that was Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona. Don't worry too much about her, she's a part of the 'Perfect First' Cohort," He made air signs with his fingers," And they don't associate too much with anyone else outside of maybe the Second or Third Cohort," he told him.

Naruto ooh'd," Ooooh, okay. So I'm guessing you're part of the Fifth Cohort from what I heard. The, uh, 'Failure Fifth' Cohort," He pointed out with an amused smile on his face.

Jason winced at the use of the infamous nickname," Yeah, hit the nail on the head. I'm a part of the Fifth Cohort. The black sheep, if you will, in the entire Camp Jupiter. We're the cohort where all the rejects, undecided, or 'useless' demigods go," He revealed.

Naruto was shocked that they would have such a thing. That was downright mean," What do you mean useless demigods. Who are they to call anyone useless," He said outraged. He clenched his fists in anger at the blatant way they told kids, children, that they were worthless in the grand scheme of things. That they were more or less cannon fodder.

Jason picked up on the anger wafting off of Naruto, and drew a hidden smirk across his face before speaking up," That is exactly how I reacted too when I first heard the reputation. That's why I decided to join them instead of those stuck up pricks in the First or Second Cohort," He said casually. He pushed the blonde bang out of his hair," The same reputation I have been trying hard to get rid of since I got here. It's been a tough challenge, but I'm getting there. The thing is I could use some help," He offered.

Naruto visibly looked taken aback at the offer. He leaned in questioningly with narrowed eyes," Why would you want my help. I just got here. You barely even know me. How do you know I can help you?" Naruto asked, trying to get to the root of the reason.

Under Naruto scrutinizing look, Jason crumbled, those violet eyes were too intense, and revealed his reasoning," It's because I can use all the help I can get. Most kids when they get here don't want to join the Fifth and that hinders the pool we can pull from, ya know? The Fifth has had the same reputation of being a band of failures since before I even got here. I just want to help them, and show those pricks," Naruto swore he heard a mumbled Octavion in there," that the Fifth Cohort is not weak. That we are not a band of failures. I want to show them that we will not be looked down upon any longer."

His mini speech was filled with passion, and Naruto could feel the strong feeling Jason had towards his Cohort. It seemed like something he could get behind fully. Plus, it would give him a perfect opportunity to begin his pranking spree. An evil smirk splayed itself across his lips for a half a second before it disappeared so quickly one would question if it was there in the first place/

Naruto stood out of his bed, cracking all of the stiff joints feeling them pop back into place, and gave Jason his signature smile," Where do I sign up?"

Jason smiled so widely that his face threated to tear in half," Great, great. I'll bring you to the two Praetors of the camp so we can fully get you enlisted into the Fifth Cohort," Naruto and him smiled before Jason looked down and noticed something," But uh, I think you should put some clothes on first," He said pointing at Naruto's boxer clad figure.

Naruto looked down before shrugging it off. It wasn't the first time he was caught in his boxers, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. He surveyed the room quickly before finding his armor and clothes hung up on the wall.

Quickly he strapped on all of his gear. Chest plate, pants, laced with Kevlar, shin and forearm guards, made from some ore his dad gave him, said it was out of this world or something, and finally laced up his weighted sandals so they could provide that extra damage when he kicked. What most people didn't know about his clothing was that, one, it magically repaired itself, and so unless it was vaporized he wouldn't need a new set. Two, it was self-cleaning, also due to magic, so he didn't have to wash it. Finally the chest plate was a combination of Kevlar woven under interlocking metal plates that moved with his body, allowing complete 3-d movement with no restrictions. Granted it was still a prototype, it was a damn good one and he was proud of it.

Another hidden feature were his forearm guards and shin guards. They were figuratively indestructible. Meaning that nothing short of a blast from Jupiter's Master Bolt, or a smash from his dad's hammer would destroy these bad boys. The metal was also reflective, meaning he could deflect bullets or other projectiles away. He got that idea from reading this cool comic about this one comic book character. He forgets her name, but it sounded something like Wonderful Lady or something like that. And there was this cool function he installed into his forearm guards that doubled as a secondary weapon should his main one somehow be away from his body.

Anyways, he was finishing up strapping on, and checking his gear and went over to grab his fingerless combat gloves. These were his main weapon. As he gazed upon the gloves, he slowly slid them on, as to not irritate the function that made them turn into his main weapon. Once he had those on nice and firmly, he was ready to go and told Jason the same," I'm ready Jason. Let's get outta here," He and Jason began walking out of the hospital room," I don't want to stay in here any longer than I have to," He said.

Jason nodded and laughed aloud as he could relate to the feeling of being trapped inside these gods damned rooms.

"…o yeah. That's it man. You are now officially a part of the Fifth Cohort," Jason summed up with a shrug of his shoulder, as he and Naruto began walking away from the Senate House.

"Really?" Naruto asked in surprise," That's it? I don't have to go through some initiation ritual or something like that?" He asked curiously.

Jason just shook his head," Nah, well at least not today. You got lucky. Everybody is preparing for the War Game tonight, Siege, so they don't have much time for anything else," He informed.

Naruto nodded his head in understanding before the two fell into a comfortable silence. That silence was broken for Naruto and Jason as a shoulder roughly bumped into Naruto's. Due to years of training, Naruto did not fall like was expected, but the shoulder did have a considerable amount of force behind which caused him to take a step back. _That was intended_. Jason was quick to saddle up to the side of his newest friend, and gazed upon the person who committed the disrespectful act.

 _Octavian._

"Well, well, well boys," An utterly slimy voice mocked," It would seem as if our dearest friend Jason has gotten himself another reject for his cohort," He said with a sharp smug grin on his face as his two lumbering companions, legacies of Mars, laughed," Well what's he, Jason? What is his legacy?" He sneered.

Jason gritted his teeth and bit put the reply," He's undecided."

This was absolutely too funny for Octavian as he laughed before speaking," Or rather unwanted like some of the riff raff that makes up the Fifth Cohort."

That was it for Jason. He lunged at Octavian's smug face and wiped that grin off with a mean sucker punch. The blow connected with a wham and stumbled Octavian as he had not expected it at all. His two 'friends' stepped forward with intentions of retaliation, but were thwarted by the look in Jason's eyes.

Naruto curiously looked up into the sky, and saw the dark clouds that spawned over their position. He tilted his head back down, and saw the reason why those clouds were in the air.

Jason was downright furious. You could insult him all you wanted, but once it came to his friends, to his family…you were dead meat. That's why when Octavian said those words he threw all civility out of the window and punched the prick in the face. He hoped it hurt too. Jason glared at the two legacies of Mars with blazing blue eyes that seemed to spark with blue electricity. The scowl on his face looked like it was etched there when he was born, and his frown looked downright cold.

He stepped past the two frozen teens and gripped Octavian by the color of his purple Camp Jupiter T-Shirt. With seeming ease, Jason lifted Octavian into the air with both hands, and stared at him. Octavian, as stubborn as he was, did not flinch either. Granted he did now have a purpling bruise on his face, he knew Jason would not doing anything further than that. Violence and brawls were prohibited outside of the Coliseum, and the punishment depended on the severity. Today was the day everybody had been looking forward too ever since those two came to camp.

The daughter of Bellona and a son of Jupiter, the two youngest members to ever join.

Today was a special day, and if anyone got in trouble…Well just don't get in trouble as simple as that. Octavian stared down into the electric blue eyes of the Grace, and scoffed before slapping his hands away from his shirt. Jason wasn't expecting such a technique and was caught flat footed. As a result Octavian was able to land back on his feet, but this time he wasn't smiling.

He spat to the side and Jason and Naruto could see the red coloring to it. Octavian looked to the two of them before speaking in a dangerous tone to Jason," You better hope I do not see you during the War Game, _Grace,"_ He hissed out," because if I do, I _will_ make sure you _never_ cross me again," He threatened.

Jason's eyes narrowed even more, and if it was possible, thunder would have boomed. He settled for giving Octavian his most dangerous glare possible.

Octavian scoffed at the silent treatment he was given and beckoned his two companions it was time to go. He started walking and bumped shoulders with the both of them hard with his two companions doing the same, and to greater effect.

Naruto spoke up for the first time since that little encounter started," Well, can I just say that I will probably end up hating that guy's guts. Just looking at him makes me want to punch his lights out. Nice punch by the way," Naruto added.

Jason gave a grunt before turning around curtly, and began walking to the Fifth Cohort barracks," Thanks, and I promise you. You aren't the only one who wants to knock that prick down a notch, or several notches," He said.

Naruto nodded and joined his companion with walking. He was about to ask a question, but Jason beat him to it.

"If you are wondering who that was, that was Octavian. Resident prick of the First Cohort. I haven't liked him since I got here, and I don't see myself becoming at least not hostile with him anytime soon," Jason said.

Naruto just nodded as the tone of voice Jason said that name with seemed to be filled with anger. He didn't pry further and risk dredging up any memories stuffed down for a reason. The two just continued to walk in silence until they got to the Fifth Cohort barracks.

Naruto looked at the old looking building, and whistled at the size of it.

Jason noticed the reaction and smirked," Yeah, since we get the most people, we also need the most room. So, as a result, we got this place," He spoke," Come on, let me introduce you to everyone."

Naruto followed him inside until Jason stopped in the middle of the wide opening. Naruto looked up and around the wide enclosure, and gave an impressed look. The place looked rather well. Naruto's attention was taken from the place, as Jason put two finger into his mouth and whistled loudly.

Naruto wondered why he would do such a silly thing, but then heard the multitude of footsteps coming their way. Within seconds a countless amount of heads were piled in front of Naruto and he was half tempted to take a step back to gain some space.

Jason stepped up and cleared his throat," Guys, I got some good news. Today, I got us a new recruit," He heard groans and added," willingly."

This surprised many of them before a girl with slightly tan skin, light brown hair tied up into a ponytail, with green eyes stepped up and spoke up," What is he then, Jason?" She asked.

Jason saw the curious look in multiple people's eyes before answering," Uh, I don't really know. I forgot to ask," He said with a sheepish smile. He turned to Naruto and beckoned him to introduce himself.

Naruto gulped, never having been in front of this many people before, and said," W-well I'm a child of Vulcan," He said.

Several more groans came from the boys and girls of the Fifth Cohort which caused Naruto to frown.

The same girl spoke up again," Ya see Jason. He's a child of Vulcan. We both know that they want to be b their precious forge than in the field," She told him.

Jason nodded and was about to speak up, but Naruto beat him to it.

Naruto was offended and mildly angry at the meaning she had put behind her words. Granted she was frustrated, but that didn't meant that she got to bag on his step brothers and sisters like that. He resolved to fix the issue right there. He looked around for a certain something before finding a stone head. It looked old and unimportant, so Naruto went over and put his hand on the top of its stony cranium. Jason, and the boys and girls of the Fifth Cohort watched him do this with curious eyes.

Naruto, with his hand atop the head of the bust, began to squeeze. All they saw was that one second ago there was a bust of Julius Caesar there, and the next they heard a dull WHOOSH. Once the dust cleared everybody's jaws dropped to the floor with the remains of the bust.

Naruto blew off the dust on the palm of his hand, and dusted it off like he didn't just pulverize a stone head.

He looked to the girl and smirked," Well, I'm not like any of my siblings."

Pure silence.

All that there was, was pure silence. No one said a word after witnessing a display of unreal strength! They never knew a legacy of Vulcan could do that! The only demigod ever rumored to be able to accomplish feats of strength like that was Heracles, but he was a son of Jupiter.

Naruto saw the girl who said the things about his family walk to where he was, and pick up a piece of what once was Julius Caesar. She examined it before letting it drop from her hands. She looked from Jason to Naruto and held her hand out for him to shake.

Naruto looked at the hand for a moment before gripping it.

"You're okay in my book…" She trailed off, and made Naruto realize he never gave his name.

"Ehehe, I'm Naruto Uzumaki," He told her.

"Okay then Naruto," She said with a smile," Welcome to the Fifth Cohort."

Cheers erupted from the remaining teens as they mobbed Naruto with praises and questions.

Jason saddled up beside the girl, and asked," So, do you think we can actually turn our reputation around with him Gwen?"

Gwen answered back," I don't know Jason," She paused as she saw the glittering happiness within every person's eyes. It wasn't just happiness it was something else in there too.

It was hope.

She gave a sideways glance to Jason before moving away from the group," I hope he can live up to the picture he just painted of himself. He just improved that hope and happiness that was beginning to form here since you came here. I hope he knows that he was something to prove tonight during the War Game," She added.

Jason nodded with a small smile, as he saw Naruto answer questions and receive praises with a beaming smile on his face," Yeah, I see what you're talking about, but I have faith in him," Gwen looked at her companion with a surprised look on her face. Jason saw it and laughed," Oh, don't give me that look. I really do believe in him. I don't know what it is, but when I first saw him I gained this feeling that he was stronger than most of the people here. I might even say he could give me or Reyna a run for our money," this caused Gwen to choke a bit," I just gotta wait until tonight to see all of what he has to bring to the table."

With his words said and done, Jason put two fingers in his mouth and whistled once again. This caught everybody's attention, and caused them to pause in what they were doing.

Jason smiled," Guys, you all know what's happening tonight right?" At several nod he continued," Then I hope you know the importance of it too. Today is the day we prove ourselves to them, no, to the gods themselves, that we are just as Roman as one of the guy's from the First, Second, or Third Cohort. Tonight is the night we prove our strength. It is the day when we shock the entire camp to its core. Tonight is the night when we disregard the shame the Michael brought upon this Cohort. Tonight is a night of rebirth! We have trained for a moment like this for months, some of you years, and I say enough is enough!" He raised his voice," I'm tired of being looked down upon just because of what Cohort I'm form, because of what flag I stand behind. I don't know about you, but the only flag I stand behind is the one of Rome! The flag that for generations has been a means to represent strength, courage, and victory. Are we not Romans? Are we not worthy of the title of being called a Roman? Are we only worthy of being labeled failures or rejects or trash that had no reason being in the Roman Army?" He paused and took a breath. He looked across each every face he familiarized himself with, and could see expressions ranging from small smiles, to looks of determination," I ask again, are we not worthy?!" This time cheers came and Jason smiled," Well then let's plan on how we're going to win this thing!"

With that the barracks descended into mindless chatter, and whoever would walk past it would be none the wiser of the monumental plans that were forming in there.

* * *

" **Good job my grandson.** "

The teen stopped what he was doing at the moment, and that was playing X-box, and smiled to himself. _It is no problem grandfather. They were none the wiser, and I can tell that he doesn't suspect a thing._

" **Good, good. Everything is going according to plan. In no time my two idiotic son will be at each other's throats, and that will give us a prime opportunity to continue my plans."**

The teen was about to answer once more, but was interrupted by a blonde haired girl. He listened to her plight, and was about to tell her that no, he couldn't help.

" **No, you foolish boy. Give her the shoes and bag."**

 _Don't you think that would be a bad idea with the entirety of Olympus put on high alert?_

Hid head shook involuntarily in pain," **Do not question me boy! Just do as I say. If I must explain it, with the entirety of Olympus paranoid, they will not question it should one of their demigods be found with it.**

The sent his grandfather a silent oohh, and smiled. To anyone else it was a genuine smile, but his thoughts couldn't have been any darker.

"Sure I think I have something in here that can help you Annabeth," He said and smiled a pearly white smile.

The girls sighed in relief," Oh, Luke thank you so much," She thanked with a slight red tinge to her cheeks.

Luke decided to add on just a little bit more to make sure she wouldn't question anything," It's no problem Annabeth. You know I'd do anything for you."

He had to hold himself back from laughing as he saw the dumb love struck look appear on her face, as he handed the bag that would spell her and her friends doom. Love was a stupid emotion that had no place anywhere. He resolved to strip that air head Aphrodite of the title once all of Olympus was under their control. Love did not bring anything, but disappointment and heartbreak. It made people do stupid things for no reason at all.

He bid her goodbye and closed his door back. _Stupid things like turning the girl I loved into a gods damned tree._ His fist shook in anger, and his eyes flashed gold for half a second. He curtly turned around, away from the Xbox.

He suddenly didn't feel like playing it anymore.

* * *

Ch. 4 End


	5. Chapter 5: Show Them What You Can Do

Yo, okay, sorry for being so late on this update, but I have had a lot of work these past few weeks since school has started. I'm not even kidding. I've had around 5 projects already, and don't get me started on homework. T.V. may or may not have had a hand in it, but I'm not telling. Anyways, despite all of the hurdles, here is the newest chapter that I hope you all will appreciate. I hope you are not disappointed too bad in this chapter or in me for not updating sooner. Anyways, that's all I have to say for now. Let's get into the chapter, shall we?

* * *

Speech-"I can't believe you did that."

 _Thoughts- I can't believe he did that_

 **Kyuubi Speech- "Pfft, show off."**

* * *

Ch.5 Show Em' What You Can Do

Night had fallen, but today no one was sleep. The night air buzzed with fireflies sporadically whizzing to and fro. One could literally taste the excitement in the air. Be it the Gods' will for it to be, or not, tonight was going to be remembered for years to come.

He could feel it.

Naruto shook his head rapidly side to side blowing out a nervous breath. No, he couldn't get nervous now even though it would be utterly understandable. He was Naruto Uzumaki, and he backed down from nothing.

 **"** **Stop thinking so rapidly. You're causing** ** _me_** **to get a headache, and I didn't even think that was possible,"** The Kyuubi told him from within the recesses of his mind.

Naruto forced himself to calm down, and viciously stamped out the butterflies that were forming in his stomach.

 **"** **That is better. Now, we both know why you're nervous. You do not want to fail those 'friends' of yours today hmm?"** The Kyuubi questioned.

 _Yeah. You know that these are my first friends since like forever, and I don't want to disappoint them. I saw how they looked. So full of life and hope. I don't want to be the cause of that hope to be shattered._

The Kyuubi scoffed at the very _human_ feelings his host was excreting. It made him sick, but he did have a few words of advice, **"** **Then do as I would've done and crush all who stand in your way and watch as their life, their very soul, fades from their eyes as you stand victorious over their cooling corpse! HAHAHAHA!"**

Naruto felt a sweat drop coming down his face as he heard the advice he was given. _Honestly, I want to win, not look like some crazed murderous kid who everyone avoided like their life depended on it._ In a very sand abundant place, a red haired boy sneezed.

Naruto felt the mental shrug the Kyuubi gave him, **"** **Eh, I'm just throwing out ideas here. I could care less about the outcome of this little event** ," the Kyuubi lied back down with his head on top of his crossed hand…paw…things in a very familiar position. He gave one last look into the darkness that was his prison and said," **Just do not embarrass yourself here. The gods will be watching, and I would hate for them to think that you, and by extension me, were weak and couldn't fight yourself out of a wet paper bag with a pair of scissors."**

Naruto was about to respond to the Kyuubi's comment, but was stopped short by the snores he was hearing. He rolled his eyes at the usual lazy behavior the Bijuu displayed, but reasoned it was better than him constantly trying to take over his body or something.

"Hey, Naruto!"

Naruto was jarred from his thoughts on the lazy occupant inside of his body by someone trying to gain his attention. His eyes snapped to the voice and saw that it was Jason. When he saw Jason, Naruto could feel his father's side of things kick in immediately. With sharp eyes he analyzed the signature Roman armor his friend was wearing. Since he wasn't a Centurion, he did not have the cool plume of horse hair on the top of his helmet.

Currently Jason had his smooth silver helmet cradled under his armpit, displaying his golden blonde hair. The Roman armor clinked with each movement he made as the shiny silver metal chest piece that was more like a shirt than anything shifted around. Naruto reasoned that it must've either been fitted for him or had some sort of enchantments for it to fit the wearer, as he could tell that it fit like a glove. He had a Roman red battle skirt with leather tassels that hung down and around his waist. The Romans, back in ancient times, used to not wear greaves and only leather sandals, but they soon realized that was seriously stupid. So, as a result, they now wore metal shin guards that came down over the sandals they wore.

Naruto quirked a lopsided smile. He was impressed with how Jason cleaned up. If all Romans looked like this, he could only imagine the intimidating image they must've cast when they numbered in the hundreds or thousands.

Naruto whistled as his friend stepped up to give him a manly hand shake," Well, I can say that you look the part. Now we gotta see if you can perform it as well."

Jason smiled and rolled his eyes," Yeah, yeah, anyways I came to get you and my shield. You know since you are the only one still in the barracks after everyone left to the field. The game starts in a few minutes, and I don't want to be late and miss out on being able to join. We're facing the First and Second Cohorts," He informed.

This was surprising," What do you mean First and Second Cohorts? I though the First was the only one defending," He asked in a curious tone.

Jason sighed and ran a hand through his hair," It surprised the rest of us too. The Praetors said something about wanting to try something new. Apparently, the last few years have seen an influx of new kids into all of the cohorts except for the First and Second, since they are so 'selective'," He said with air quotes," Because of that, all of the cohorts besides the First and Second have around an extra fifty kids each."

Naruto picked up on what he was explaining and finished it," So they let them two join forces as to make it a little more even," He finished and began focusing on tightening his armor. His chest piece was done, so he bent down to tighten his shin guards and sandals," Well I'm going to assume that made it even harder for us, hmm?"

Jason nodded a nod that was unseen to Naruto as he was focused on his shoe wear," Got it in one. Those two have the reputation of being the best in the camp, and attacking them both in a fortified position is just going to make it harder," He finished

Naruto straightened up and flexed his fists in his gloves to make sure they were comfortably tightened, and looked at Jason with a quirked eyebrow," Are you trying to make me quit? Because that's how it's sounding to me right now,"

Jason sent him a confident smile," Nope, just making sure you come in prepared. Those guys from the First and Second may be pricks, but they aren't pushovers. Not by a long shot."

Naruto shrugged a shoulder," Fine by me. It just makes it all that much sweeter when we're the ones hoisting that flag above our heads," He told him and pointed over to the corner Jason's shield was. Jason looked and saw that Naruto was pointing towards his shield and walked over to it. He grabbed it and strapped it onto his left forearm securely. After finishing with his shield he placed his helmet on top of his head and turned towards Naruto.

Naruto looked at his blonde haired friend and gave him a look that asked him if he was ready. Jason nodded back confidently and the two began their way to the Fields of Mars. As they walked Naruto kept looking at his gloves, clenching and unclenching his fists. This action sparked a question in Jason's mind.

"Hey Naruto," He started. Naruto looked at his armored companion and dropped his fists to his side. Seeing he got his attention Jason continued," Where is your sword at?"

Naruto in response brought his two gloved hands up," These _are_ my weapons," Naruto told him. He was the confused look on Jason's face and elaborated," These hold my weapons, in a sense," Jason shot him a look and Naruto added," I don't really know how to explain it in words that won't confuse your brain. My dad told me how they worked and everything, but it was in a way that was very over the top technical, and I don't want to fry your brain before the fight."

Jason laughed at the joke, and took a closer look at the gloves as the two continued to walk and talk. With his sharp eyes he could see nothing weird about the gloves that would tell him that they held something within. _Wait a minute_. Jason's eyes widened as he realized what the gloves must've been.

"Those gloves are like my coin!" He exclaimed in realization.

Naruto looked at Jason confusedly and asked," Coin?"

Jason opened up the small pouch he had strapped to his left hip and pulled out a gold coin. He held it out in between his thumb and index fingers, turning it around and back to let Naruto get a good look at it. One side held the face of what Naruto was guessing Julius Caesar and the held the image of something Naruto just couldn't make out exactly.

Finishing his analysis, Naruto spoke up," Ah, I can see what you mean. I can literally feel the magic and power your coin holds just like my gloves do. How do you activate yours? I have to bang my fists together, and then mine come out," He explained.

Jason decided to show rather than explain, and flipped his coin with his thumb. A golden flash later, and a golden gladius was now in Jason's grip. The blade's two foot length gleamed in the moonlight, and Naruto had to resist the urge to snatch it out of Jason's hands and give it the classic child of Vulcan once over. From where he stood Naruto could tell that the sword had a godly influence on it like his own weapon. The sword was, from hilt to tip, around 27 inches and He could tell it was the perfect length for Jason.

"…ruto? Naruto? Naruto!?"

Naruto gave a mild jolt of surprise and his gaze was tore away from the gladius," Wha? What?"

Jason looked at Naruto amusedly," Yup, definitely a child of Vulcan," He chuckled lightly," Only one of them could get lost looking at a weapon. I can't tell you just how many did the same thing you did when they saw mine," He chuckled a little more at Naruto's sheepish look," You're reaction was rather tame compared to some of the others I have met. One almost tried to tackle me to get a closer look!"

That tidbit sent the two into a fit of laughter with one remembering the day and the other imagining just how it went down. Their laughter lasted until they made it to the field. The laughter and smiles died once they made their way into the organized groups that held cohorts 3-5. The two weaved their ways through the collection of the meticulously lined up pre-teens and teens. On the way Naruto caught a glimpse of an elephant, and was so caught up on staring at its armored form, he bumped into Jason's armored back. This stumbled the two boys, and broke Naruto's stare on the exotic armored animal.

Jason set his feet and stopped his tumbling and looked back at Naruto with a slightly agitated look," What was that for, man?"

Naruto looked at Jason and pointed to the lumbering elephant wordlessly. Jason looked over to the subject of Naruto's carelessness, and his mouth formed into an oooh.

Jason turned away from the elephant and dragged Naruto's astonished form with him. As he did this he explained to Naruto about the elephant," That's our newest edition to the games, Hannibal. Named after the famous Carthaginian general who was close to knocking down the gates of Rome," He explained. Naruto was listening raptly as his father barely ever talked about history during their lessons," We named him that because of the intimidating and unorthodox mounts that Hannibal's personal army rode into battle and devastated the unprepared Roman army. So," He said pointing back to Hannibal," they decided to name him that out of respect and it seems to fit him."

Naruto absorbed the small history lesson with wide open ears, and imagined just how it would feel to go up against an elephant of that size.

"The funny thing is, he's not even fully grown yet. Our veterinarians say that he will continue to grow until we're close to adulthood," Jason added with a wide smile.

This fact almost made Naruto stumble in incredulity. The elephant was already bigger than 2 grown men, and he was going to get bigger? That was ridiculous! Naruto took his thoughts off of Hannibal when rapid and heated speech reached his ears. He looked at Jason to see if he was hearing what he did, and got a nod of confirmation. They both began moving towards it, wondering what was happening.

As they got closer the disruption was made clearer. In front of the three lined up cohorts there was a heated argument going on between the Centurions, if their headgear was any indication of their rank, and it looked to be split down the middle. There were three centurions, two male and one female judging by the voices, and three more on the other side, all male according to the voices that speaking.

Naruto walked towards the three teens and listened in to what they were arguing about.

"What do you mean you won't help in the main assault team?!" Naruto heard one of the guys on the left side asked incredulously. Naruto gazed at the tall teen and could only make out the sharp angular nose, pointed chin, and light green eyes he had due to him having the full set of Centurion armor on.

Naruto saw one of the males from the other side of the other side of the argument, about 5 foot 10 with a round nose and fierce brown eyes and a body type that reminded Naruto of a bulldog, step forward and answer the fierce question with aggressively," Because Brian! I know that you intend to use our Cohort as nothing more than cannon fodder!"

The accusation was met with a series of small gasps from the Cohort in question, Cohort 4 according to the banner that was held in the air, and murmurs broke out amongst them. Brian stepped forward aggressively, but was held back from doing anything rash by the Centurion on his side. The male, about the same height as Brian, with broad shoulders and same facial features as Brian had and Naruto guessed he was his brother. Naruto watched him give Brian a silent look that lowered Brian's hackles immediately, and caused him to take a step back.

He turned his head toward the guy Naruto was sure Brian was about to deck in the face and spoke calmly but sharply," You know as well as I do, Antonio, that anyone assaulting the front will be subjected to the heaviest of the fire. We learned that when we were young, and that isn't going to change. We all agreed to send in the Forth with of Hannibal and then the Fifth to help with the push. While we," He said indicating to Brian and him," take our Cohort around the sides and attack from their rear while they are occupied in trying to stop you guys."

Naruto remembered being debriefed on the plan in the Barracks and thought it was a good plan if a little on the simple side. He had no qualms against and even if he did he was not in any position to voice them. He had just only got here like a day ago, and he barely even knew anybody. Plus he was from the "Failure Fifth", and he doubted anyone would listen to the suggestion he would have.

"Look, I'm just saying," Antonio said and then leaned in towards Brian and the other boy," Why don't we send in the Fifth Cohort first and then us with Hannibal. That way, once they get done exhausting their ammo on the Failure Fifths, we can just storm in there with Hannibal, break through that gate and show those stuck up pricks what defeat tastes like!" He finished boldly and with emphasis. His changes of the plan were met with a round of cheers from the Fourth Cohort and scattered murmurs of agreement by the Third.

Naruto clenched his fists so hard his knuckles popped and frowned deeply. What he just heard was almost criminal. Not only was he throwing them to the wolves, but he had no strategic value to it whatsoever. He was using everybody's want to beat the Second and First Cohort and mixed it with what they thought of them. They all thought they were nothing better than a distraction. That they were worthless!

From the frontlines where Jason and Naruto stood came the Fifth Cohort Centurion, Tyler. Naruto met him briefly when they were being told of the plan and saw that the lanky kid was more than his appearance let on. Naruto watched him clang his sword onto his shield to get everyone's attention.

 **CLANG CLANG CLANG**

He stood up straight and tall as his brown eyed freckled face locked eyes with Antonio's similar ones. He glared strongly at him, but tore his gaze away to address Brian and what Naruto still thought was his brother," Julius," He started breaking the whispered conversation the two were having," you know we will get slaughtered down there if you were to send us in first like that. The Forth," here he paused as if the next words were hard to say," have better fighters than us and will be more effective at making a hole that we can take advantage of."

Antonio immediately picked up as Tyler finished," And as the better fighter that makes us a more valuable asset that shouldn't be the first to get put down," He stated," Besides, you make it seem like the Fifth Cohort is good at anything other than that." He insulted. He pointed a hand towards Tyler and continued," You know your Cohort's reputation and I personally believe that you guys cannot be trusted with anything else. We all know what happened the last time one of you had an important job, hmm?" He jabbed towards Tyler. By now Tyler looked downright furious. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the end of his Gladius handle in anger. Naruto saw his jaw clench and unclench and the scowl on his face turned even colder than before. Naruto could tell that he wanted to say something desperately, but held his tongue due to the stinging truth that Antonio's words held.

Everyone knew that the truth was that the last time someone from the Fifth Cohort did have something important, they lost it. It didn't help that it was the Golden Eagle, the symbol of pride and strength for the Romans, which was lost. And just like how it was lost, everyone knew the complete downturn the Fifth Cohort took afterwards.

But Naruto wouldn't go over that right now. Now he had a guy to punch in the face. He huffed and started to step forward, but was stopped by a sharp pain in his skull.

" **You will not be doing something so foolish in front of so many people,"** The Kyuubi said in his deep menacing voice. The sharp stab of pain disappeared, but it got Naruto's attention.

 _Why did you stop me? That guy is just asking to be decked in the face for what he was just saying._

 **"** **Yes, I know he was speaking disrespectfully towards you and your own, and if he were speaking like that towards me I would've ripped his measly soul out of still cooling carcass,"** The Kyuubi sighed, **"** **But as it were, you wouldn't let me do such a thing."**

 _You're got that right,_ Naruto replied back as he tried to calm himself down.

The Kyuubi continued on as if he had not heard Naruto," **But the reason I stopped you was because I didn't want you to interrupt your blonde haired friend,"** he explained to his container.

Confused, Naruto was ready to ask the Kyuubi about what he meant. Before he could, he got his answer in the shape of an irate Jason.

Jason had it. He was sick and tired of being discriminated against and looked down upon like they weren't better that mud that would accumulate on the bottom of their sandals. He had only been there for about two years, and he was already fed up with. Now, they were trying to treat them as nothing more than a walking meat shield?!

That. Was. It.

He was done. Throughout the entire exchange his anger slowly bubbled forth towards the surface with each dig that was thrown at the Fifth Cohort. Dark, dangerous clouds rolled across the sky and obscured the once starry night. His hands turned to fists and his knuckles turned white. The teens that were once standing around him noticed his increasing fury, and wisely took a good ten steps back. The only one that still stood by him was Naruto, who looked just as furious.

Jason didn't notice any of it. He was too deep in a veil of outrage to even care at the moment. The hairs on his arms rose up slightly from his fair skin and miniature storms brewed within his blue eyes. His lips were pulled back in a miniature snarl of fury. It was this livid image of a 12 year old boy that seared itself into everyone-who-was-present's memory.

Jason stepped forward resolutely, and made the four senior Centurions acknowledge him by slamming his shield onto the ground. Dirt was displaced and the shield made an indention into the ground due to the force behind it. The dull **THUMB** that followed halted all scattered discussions, and brought the attention to the infuriated Son of Jupiter.

No words were said as Jason dragged his electric blue eyes across the faces of the three Centurions who were more than likely going to decide to make the Fifth Cohort the proverbial 'bullet sponges'. He stepped up next to Tyler, who in turn looked down at his subordinate with an impressed and slightly curious look. He did this with a small smirk, as he knew what he was going to do. He was ready to do the same thing, but he reasoned that the kid with the glowing blue eyes would have a better impact than him. He stepped back with a sly smirk, and allowed all of the attention to be put on Jason. This kid was going places.

Jason noticed that Tyler stepped back, but didn't dwell on it for the moment. No, all of his focus was pointed at the three Centurions in front of him. He huffed through his nose, and spoke through gritted teeth.

"The amount of disrespect we as a Cohort have received has gone on for long enough. I've only been here for two years, and I say enough is **Enough** ," He did not yell, but they were still somehow louder than any voice could make them. His frigid tone cut a path through ear drums and left no prisoners, as it forced people to pay attention and listen," For too long have you looked at us like we were nothing more than garbage that didn't deserve to be called Roman," he spat. His intense blue eyes did not stray from Antonio's frozen brown ones, but his words were directed at them all," but today you would dare to label and try to use us as nothing more than walking-talking meat shields to be used at your own benefit?" he asked in an incredulous manner because he truly did not believe that they could stoop so low. Lupa told him all about how the kids at the camp would treat him like family, but apparently she forgot to include what would happen if he joined the Fifth Cohort.

He looked over his shoulder, and the first person's eyes he met were the violet ones of Naruto. He looked into the oddly colored eyes and saw the nod of respect he got from him. He moved past Naruto and looked into the eyes of each and every member of the Fifth Cohort, trying to convey what he was about to do through his eyes. To his surprise he got several nods of acknowledgement back when he locked eyes with said person.

In all reality though, Tyler just told someone, and then told him to pass it on to the rest of them.

Jason looked back towards the Centurions," Then go ahead. We'll let you, no," He paused," we want to be the first at that gate. We'll show you what the Fifth Cohort can do," He turned around and fell in line with his Cohort, no, his family. He lined up next to Naruto and motioned for Tyler to get things going.

Tyler smiled widely, his freckles stretching across his face, and unsheathed his gladius," Fifth Cohort," He bellowed and pointed his sword forward," let us show them what it means to be **Roman!** "

That ignited the fire within the bellies of the Fifth Cohort teens, and they marched in unison towards the fort that was erected in the middle of the field. Slowly, as they were still shocked by the exclamation of the, "Failure Fifths". In spite of their state of mind, they would not be shown up by the Fifth. The two Cohorts followed after the example of the Fifth, and caught up to the Fifth Cohort's fired up members.

In unison, the three Cohorts marched their way towards the fort that would be the setting of the War Game. The fort came into view, and was it should've been called a castle.

The walls stood planted into the ground in the shape of a rough circle. The thick walls towered above the attackers, and flattened out once they reached their apex. The tops of the walls had a scattered assortment of siege guns, pressurized water cannons and scorpion ballistae with teens manning them, ready to blast at anybody they deemed a target. Up there with them were the teens who preferred the bow rather than the sword, ready to let loose blunted arrows down onto the attackers. Aiding them was a ginormous iron gate, bolted to the walls, and intimidating to anyone with the intentions of trying to get through its cold unforgiving iron body. Behind that gate sat the two most skilled Cohorts, albeit admitted reluctantly, in the camp.

Naruto took all of this in once he set eyes on the fort. In all the thing was sound and could was built well. It was probably built by his step brothers and sisters, as such carpentry and construction had a familiar feeling to it. Because of that he could tell where its weak spots were.

He marched with the Fifth Cohort and knew that this was going to be tough.

He smiled wildly as felt his heart begin to beat in his chest with purpose. His blood flowed through his veins, filling them with warmth and excitement. He smiled wildly and his violet eyes gleamed with anticipation.

He was ready to show what he was made of. The Fifth Cohort got closer and closer to the iron gate, and as they did to their surprise a trumpet like noise sounded off behind them. They looked at to their surprise it was Hannibal the elephant bringing up the rear. His rider atop of him gave them a 'come on' motion with his arm and urged Hannibal forward. The Fifth Cohort took this invitation gladly and pushed forward with the giant elephant.

The ground shook beneath his feet with each lumbering stomp Hannibal took forward. The Fifth had a fire in their eyes, and looked as if nothing would stop them from getting into that fort and getting that flag. This was their moment and they were going to take it.

These thoughts circulated through their heads, as they got closer and closer to the gates that stood in their way.

"Raise shields!" Tyler screamed above the pounding footsteps and the blood pumping through his ears. As one they raised their shields above their heads, but as a result had to slow their run down to an average march. Raising their shield was the right thing to do as they were in range to be fired upon.

And fired upon they were.

Unleashed upon them was the combined might of the defenses that were stored in the fort. High pressurized water was the first thing to hit, and it struck the frontline of shields like a sledgehammer. The water rocketed out and impacted against the shields and slowed the frontline, whilst wetting the ground beneath their feet making it mucky and sloshy.

Naruto, not having a shield, moved behind Hannibal, grabbing onto the straps on his side and hanging off of them. With his elevated position he was able to see the incoming ballista fire," Incoming ballista!" He cried out to his comrades over the sound of rushing water.

Apparently he was heard as immediately he heard a cry," Shields halt!"

The line of Romans stopped hard, and planted their feet waiting for the inevitable impact.

 **WHISH WHISH WHISH WHISH**

The sounds of the scorpions releasing their ammunition filled the cool night air. Naruto grimaced as they impacted over the top of the shields. For some teens it proved too much and they were blasted back by the impact and fell to the floor groaning in pain with broken bones and bruises. Despite this, the lines were hardly fazed, and soldiers moved in to fill in the spaces of their fallen comrades.

They moved like a machine, and were meticulous with their approach. Their steps moving in synchronization creating a war melody that fit the setting perfectly. Fortunately for them, the pressurized water cannon were set with a limit to where one could not fire them as long as the scorpions were being reloaded.

They took advantage the best way any Roman would.

"Romans, pilla!" was the cry the activated the constantly practiced action. The lines dropped their shields and pulled out their pilla. In a second they were lined up, and the call was given.

" **LOOSE!** "

Hundreds of pilla filled the sky and rained down upon the defenders of the fort with merciless fury. They took cover the best they could, but Naruto witnessed several teens be struck by the pilla. Some in the chest, arms, and legs knocking them from their perches. The Fifth took advantage of this and pushed forward faster, getting a few dozen feet from the gates themselves. Despite their flawless use of pilla, they did not get all they could. The archers that lied in wait were now able to fire upon the approaching Cohort as they pleased.

Blunted arrowheads raced from fingers in hordes of 10s and 20s. Some found their mark while others were harmlessly bounced off shields. Hannibal himself was targeted with a great deal of them, but thanks to his thick hide and armor, he was hardly effected by the blunted arrows.

This gave Naruto an idea.

Naruto looked up at Hannibal's rider and called up to him," Hey!"

The rider looked down at Naruto with amber eyes and a button nose with surprise. Apparently he didn't know he was there, but that didn't matter," What are you doing down there kid!?" He yelled over the sounds of pain, commands, and arrows.

Naruto shook his head," That doesn't matter! Can you get me to that gate!?" He asked while pointing to the epicenter of the hail of arrows, and the recuperating teens who were re-manning the water cannons.

He looked at the quickly recuperating teens at the top of the wall, and growled as his hair whipped around with each movement Hannibal made. He needed answer. He looked back to the contemplating rider and got his attention once again," Hey! Well can you or can you not?!" He grew a mischievous smirk on his face," Or can your elephant not handle a little arrow fire?"

Naruto grew an even wider smirk when he saw the outrage in the teen's eyes. The teen snapped the reins that he gripped to control Hannibal, and the elephant began moving faster forward. The teen looked down at Naruto," I hope you have a plan kid!" He said before turning back forward and focusing on controlling Hannibal and not getting hit by a stray arrow.

Naruto looked at the rapidly getting closer gate and muttered under his breath," Oh, I got a plan, don't you worry."

Hannibal drew closer to the gate, and as a result, arrow fire was relocated onto him. Naruto gripped the strap he was hanging on to with tightly, and let his other hand be free to smack away any stray arrows that he caught coming his way. Hannibal trumpeted loudly and Naruto flinched at the loud noise.

"Come on buddy! You can do it Hannibal. We need to get to that gate!" Naruto heard the rider holler.

With Hannibal being focused on, it allowed for the Fifth Cohort to move forward unimpeded. They ate up the distance between them and the gate methodically until they were a few feet away from the gate. Their luck ran dry though, as the water cannons were re-manned. The pressurized water once again slowed the Cohort to a crawl due to its dangerous pressure that it fired down upon them.

This slowed their movement to a crawl, and Naruto reasoned they weren't going to get that much further if something wasn't done about those cannons.

 _That's good enough I suppose_.

"Hey kid!" Naruto looked up at Hannibal's rider and saw that his eyes were alternating between focusing on what was in front of him and Naruto himself. Naruto saw him look out of the corner of his eyes and catch that he was looking at him," We're getting closer to the gate kid! You're going to need to get off sooner rather than later. This arrow fire is getting to Hannibal, and I'm doing all I can to keep on the right," he suddenly jerked at his reins," path!"

Naruto looked forwards, and saw that he was the right distance away from the approaching Cohort and the gate at the same time. He readied his legs, gave a thumbs up to Hannibal's rider, and leaped off of the elephant. He had to quickly roll with the impact, and tumbled onto his knees. He looked up and immediately sped towards the gate.

He flat out hoofed it towards the iron gates that protected the entrance of the fort, weaving through arrow shots with more than few barely missing by a hairs breadth. With each step he took, dirt and rocks were displaced and kicked up into the air.

With the speed he was going at, it left everybody speechless, and everyone was caught up in watching this new kid blow their mind with his speed. Due to this, Naruto made it to the iron gate, and the second and final phase of his plan was put into action.

His eyes began to glow and the muscles in his arms tensed in anticipation. He reached out and gripped the gate with his fingers, and began to pull.

His unorthodox action actually made a lull in the action of the War Game, and caused everyone to watch what he was doing. Pure curiosity urged them to figure out what he was trying to do. Archers lowered their bows, and the Fifth Cohort lowered their shields and looked on.

Jason looked over his raised shield and looked at his friend as he pulled on the gate. _What is he doing?_

Naruto gritted his teeth and huffed through his nose. This gate was proving harder than what he assumed. His fingers were wrapped around the cold biting metal as he pulled with untold amounts of strength. His veins bulged in his forearms, as they ran up his arms. His biceps bulged and the air around him swayed. His feet were planted hard enough into the ground to leave permanent imprints into the earth itself. His heart beat as loud as a drum in his ears, and his eyes flashed with power.

Slowly, the bolts that kept the gate locked in its place to the wall, began to groan in exertion. This unhuman amount of strain that was being put on them. Naruto's arms shook as his strength slowly began to beat out the resilience that was held within the crafted metal. Suddenly something gave…

…and it wasn't Naruto's arms.

The bolts sped out of the place they were once at, and scattered across the ground and into the air. With the strength that Naruto was pulling, the iron gate was flung backwards into the air. It flipped end over end, tumbling through the night air and landed with a dull thump and a resounding clang.

Naruto turned towards the Fifth Cohort with a cheeky grin on his face," Door's open."

He swore he heard someone drop their sword and shield onto the floor.


	6. Chapter 6: So That's What You Can Do

Yo, Coolness 121 back with a brand new chapter. I am well on my way into updating G.W.O.T.N. I just need to finalize it and finish writing the last few scenes for those of you curious folk. Yeah, so my bad for taking so long on this, but I have had virtually no free time for the past few weeks. I apologize for the lack of an update, but here it is. After this chapter is when the ball really starts rolling. There will be a few time skips, as I want to get on with the actual story of Son of Neptune. You will know, though, what happens in between years like: how Naruto's relationships developed, how the gods reacted to his presence, what the shinobi world has been doing, stuff like that.

Now about the pairing, I have one in mind, but I won't tell you. I will tell you the ones he won't be getting with though. He won't get with Reyna, any female gods, Rachel, Hazel, Annabeth, Calypso, or Clarisse. The ones that are left I'll leave you to figure out and try to guess who Naruto's going to end up with.

* * *

Maelstrom of the Nine- Thanks man, and I hope this does get a lot more attention.

DannyPhantom619- Now I'm not sure about the Truth-Seeking Balls and all that jazz, but the rest have a high possibility of him learning. You'll see as it plays out.

GuardianOfTheUniverse- Thanks man for checking it out and leaving a review

RabbitMaster- Ah, I was waiting for someone to speak up about it. I put Reyna in here earlier for a very special reason. Thanks for the compliment

LordGhostStriker- I know right, I feel bad for the guy that has to get that gate and put it back.

Son of Thanatos 64- Thanks for the compliment, and cliff hangers are a necessary evil. They keep you coming back for more don't they?

(To the people who reviewed CH. 4)

Ejammer- Here ya go, and like I said I have Reyna here earlier for a special reason.

Sceonn- Yeah, he can still use his chakra, it's just a choice on his part whether or not to use it. And in the case of shinobi taking on gods, which is something that is reserved for the S rank and S+ shinobi. Gods are just that, Gods. Their power is crazy high, and there are only a few shinobi capable of taking on a god when they're in the right state of mind and fighting to the best of their ability.

Guest- Yeah, you do that

LordXeenTheGreat- Thanks!

Guest- No, no he wouldn't. Not in this case.

KnowPein- Thanks man

Well that's that, so now onto the chapter. Have a blessed Thanksgiving to you all, and hope you have a nice week.

* * *

There was only silence. Expressions ranged from rage to curiosity to absolute befuddlement, but the most prevalent one of them all was disbelief. Disbelief in the fact that this young boy, demi-god or not, just ripped, tore, dissected, whatever word you would like to use, that cold, solid iron gate from its resting place with seeming ease. Eyes were wide as the doer of said action had the gall to smile sheepishly afterwards. Their brains had shorted out for a moment, and only silence was able to fill in the space. Naruto felt a small sweat drop roll down his neck, as he took their silence as his 'performance' was a little too much.

That only lasted for another half a second.

In the next moment a resounding bellow of tenacity and ferociousness erupted from the lungs of everyone that stood within the organized lines of the Fifth Cohort. With unstoppable fervor unleashed, the multitude of teens stampeded their way towards the now gaping hole in fort that was made for them by their newest edition. Naruto looked at the stone shocked teens inside the fort and slammed his knuckles together, more for effect than anything important. In a golden flash his once empty hands were now holding two tonfa of different colors.

Now most would see tonfa as something as an unconventional weapon that whose use should've died years ago, but Naruto thought they were awesome. Way better than some old sword anyways. He never really found out how his father knew what type of weapon he had wanted before he himself knew. Whenever he asked he was just laughed off and told," I'm not the smith of the gods for no reason."

The tonfa were a beautiful piece of work that looked more like a work of art than a dangerous weapon meant to inflict pain. The two tonfa handles shot up into his hand, and were wrapped in molded leather in the shape of finger holds for extra grip. There was a rather embarrassing story to that particular feature, but he'd rather not remember it at the moment. The grip handles was were the similarities of the two tonfa ended.

The tonfa in his left hand was colored a deep crimson red that made it look as if it was soaked in blood and that was where the color came from. The length of the shaft was about 20 in. Around the shaft was an-etched-in-black image of the Kyuubi. Its maw was pulled back into a vicious snarl, and its nine tails were shown thrashing wildly around. The tonfa itself was formed out of light-weight chakra conductive metal that his dad had pulled from the ruins of Uzushiogakure, his mom's birthplace, and imperial gold. He told him that he had never done such a combination before, and would never do one again. The two tonfa he now had were the only kind in existence. He smiled, that particular fact always brought a smile to his face. Anyways, with the tonfa being made of conductive metal, he was able to channel his chakra through it, and it had a really cool effect which brought a warm feeling to his stomach that Naruto guessed was the Kyuubi's pride overflowing out of his cage.

When he channeled chakra into the tonfa, the image of the Kyuubi came to life. Its maw began actually snarling, and the tail began to swing slowly. While this all happened, the tonfa itself lit up with a slight red coloration, and a miniscule genjutsu that affected two of the five sense, sight and hearing. Anybody who knew that it was a genjutsu could easily break out of it, so it was more for flare than anything else. What it did was make whoever was effected by to see the image of the Kyuubi in all of its nine-tailed glory snarling over them with flames licking at their ankles.

Now the other tonfa, the one in his right, was meant to symbolize the other part of him, his roots. The tonfa in his right hand was the same length as the one in his right, but the design was completely different. This one was colored royal blue with gold wrapped ends. All around it were etched swirls that never seemed to end. They fit perfectly and didn't touch one another in a way that messed up the other. This one, like the other, was made from light-weight chakra conductive metal and imperial gold too.

The special effect of this one was similar to its counterpart. When he channeled chakra, a miniscule genjutsu took effect and messed with the body's perception, mainly balance, coordination, etc. The whirlpools swirled in different directions, dizzying the brain, which in turn, makes the body not function straight. And it is the funniest thing messing with an empousa's already wonky equilibrium.

These two tonfa are were his weapons of choice. They might not be the most conventional or normal weapon, but don't let that fool you. These bad boy packed a punch, and his countless number of monster kills could attest to that.

He put his left arm up, with the tonfa going with, and channeled chakra through it, activating the genjutsu. Within seconds he saw it take effect, and saw some of the teens begin to breathe a little heavier or take a small step back. That was good for the first time against actual humans and not monsters. Granted there were still a good amount who had enough sense to shake it off or just didn't get effected by it in the slightest. They were the ones that, instead of staggering, drew up and hardened their stance, but he had got what he wanted out of it.

He heard the thundering of footsteps, and bellows of incomprehensible words come from behind him like a wind that wanted victory. He allowed his cohort members to be the first ones to attack, they deserved that glory, and attack they did.

The first line of the Fifth Cohort slammed into the semi-shaken defensive line of the mixed Second and First Cohorts with the force of a freight train. Shields clashed with each other, and the defending side crumpled like wet tissue paper. They smashed a dent into their lines like hammer against metal, and then the fight was on.

Swords clashed, shields clanged, and grunts, hollers, and bellows of either anger, pain, or triumph were let loose.

And he loved it.

He forgot when he decided to join in, but that hardly mattered. He was having a blast. His senses were at their peak and his motions were seamless. He encountered an enemy, distinguished by their different shields, almost every two feet, and it was exhilarating. He was so caught up in his own battle haze he did not see nor hear the arrow that whizzed by his face, and was too late to attempt a dodge.

"Aah!" He cried out as the arrow skimmed his cheek and left a small but stinging gash. The pain served two purposes. It got him out of the little haze he was in, and made him question just what that was.

 _Was that you?_

His tenant stirred from his lax positioning inside of Naruto, and thought over what happened.

" **No, you foolish fleshbag, that was not me,"** The Kyuubi answered in an irritated tone. It rolled its eyes. Honestly, if it was him, those idiotic teenagers wouldn't breathing much less groaning in pain on the ground or unconscious like they were.

Naruto blocked on overhead sword strike to the head from a rather burly teen with both arms. With his tonfa he locked the teen's sword in place, and felt the teen struggle against his own strength futilely.

 _Well then do you know what that was?_

He asked internally before switching to the teen he had stuck. He let the teen go right when he yanked, causing him to stagger backwards at the sudden lack of resistance. Naruto took advantage of this and swung his right fist forward at the teen's exposed midsection. The end of his tonfa, which extended past his enclosed fists, smashed into the soft stomach, and the teen folded inwards over Naruto's fist. Spittle came flying out of the teen's mouth at the organ rattling impact, and his sword clanged against the ground as his hands lost the strength to hold it. Swiftly, Naruto spun 180 degrees and his other tonfa impacted the back of the boy's head, knocking him to the ground in a boneless heap.

The Kyuubi scoffed at the 'soft' act of knocking the boy out. Only if he wasn't suck in this damnable cage. All hopes and dreams aside for the moment, he addressed his containers question with a yawn.

" **That was all you, brat,"** he told him. He felt the utter confusion come from his container, as he again was confronted with two more buffoons who thought they stood a chance against his container. He may belittle his container whenever he could, but he had a grudging respect for his growing combat prowess. His tails began to tingle, and he knew that when they did that something big was going to happen.

And soon.

The Kyuubi continued his train of thought as his container dealt with his new opponents," **I mean that it was all you in the sense that it was your body's reaction to being in actual combat for the first time. Dangerous only if you don't realize it and control it,** " He told him.

Naruto ohhh'd in realization as the two teen's attacked him in unison from both sides. He had to focus this time, as these guys came in prepared. He was immediately put on the defense as the two boys attacked in tandem. He raised both forearms and deflected the first strikes outward. He was given to chance to attack as they recovered qucker than he estimated. The teen to his right swung his sword in a downward sweep aimed towards his legs, but Naruto responded accordingly and blocked the strike. His danger sense tingled, and he ducked his head on reflex. This was a good decision as a sword swung in the space his head had just left. Staying crouched, Naruto expertly spun the handle of his left tonfa in his hand, extending the longer side outward. He swung and his tonfa cut through the air, and impacted with the side of the teen's knee, staggering him. Naruto did not stop there, he stood up and kicked the sword out of the teen's hand leaving him without a weapon of attack and some bruised or broken fingers. He swung and the tonfa in his left hand struck the boy's jaw hard enough to knock him unconscious.

With one of them dealt with, Naruto found himself once again blocking a furious slice. A series of slices coming from, right, left, and up came his way and set Naruto on the defensive. He quickly got tired of being on the defensive, and decided to change it. He spun the handle of his right tonfa this time and sung it at the same time the teen swung his sword. The two weapons collided with a metallic clang, but Naruto did not let it end there. He brought up his other tonfa, expertly spun it around in his hand, and brought it down on the sword before the teen could bring it back to him. The teen's grip held resolute on to the sword, and was forced to his knee.

Naruto looked to take absolute advantage of the vulnerable position, but was forced to dodge the quick swipe at his ankles. He stepped back out of the range of the swipe, and stepped back up to swing his tonfa. His tonfa cut through the air, ready to send another victim to the realm of Somnus, the god of sleep, but was halted by the raised shield. The tonfa clanged against the shield with the force of a sledgehammer, and the teen's guard was torn to shreds. Due to Naruto's unreal strength, his strike blew the shield to the side, taking its holders body with it, leaving his back and sides exposed.

Naruto jabbed into the side of the teen with his right, then brought down his left onto the shoulder holding the shield. The fragile collarbone crumbled under Naruto's might and the teen cried out in pain. His cry went into one ear and out of the other, and was silenced as Naruto finished the teen off with a jab to his temple.

With another enemy down, another just took his place, this one though, was different. Naruto blocked the sword strike that came down diagonally, but finally felt a lick of pain as a kick connected with his chest, forcing his feet backward in an effort to restore balance. The impact jarred him for a second, but his foe took advantage of the small window nonetheless.

A swipe at the waist came next, but Naruto had enough sense to bring down his tonfa in time. The attack bounced off of his weapon, and Naruto punched forward with his other tonfa. To his surprise, and unlike the others he had taken down, this one was able to raise their shield in time. His attempt was harmlessly absorbed by the shield, and the attacker swiftly brought his gladius up and stabbed at him with its tip. Naruto swayed backwards, away from the stab, and quickly brought up a tonfa to block the follow up slash. His strong arms held steady against the impact, and adjusted timely to the slash coming from the opposite direction.

As the sword once again impacted aginst his guard, Naruto brought his free hand up, twirled the handle in his hand, and brought it down on the extended arm. He heard a grunt of surprise and pain come from his attacker, and punched through the air like a bullet toward the teen's head in an effort to finish this bout. He wanted to finish quickly, and begin to actually go after his objective, the flag at the top. So, he may or may not of channeled a little bit of chakra into his tonfa to increase its speed beyond what he expected capable for any of these teens to react to.

That's why when a shield was brought up in time to block his strike, he was so surprised he didn't catch the shield bash that caught him in the jaw. Once again, he staggered back and grimaced a little in pain. A bruise was quickly forming along his jawline, and Naruto spat out some of the accumulated blood that he tasted in his mouth.

"Hahaha!"

Naruto looked at the teen who was now standing up, with a smile on his face. Naruto watched him toss off his helmet and look at him with blue eyes. His sharp features pulled back into a cocky smile that Naruto instinctively wanted to wipe off his face.

Octavian smiled with no small amount of smugness. He swiped his bangs out of his face and asked," Oh, is the little baby going to cry after that little love tap, hmm?" He quirked is eyebrow in a way that Naruto just felt was for making people feel small and stupid. He tensed at the shrill laugh that came from Octavian once more, and tried to calm himself before he went off on the kid more than he wished to.

Octavian stopped laughing and looked at him with a pompous, he thought that was the best word to describe it, look and asked," I really do hope that is not all that you are capable of, little fish-cake?"

Naruto's anger rose at the misinterpretation of his name. How did he even know that that was one of its meanings?

"It means maelstrom, not _fish-cake,_ " Naruto corrected sharply. His grip tightened around his tonfa, and was sure that if they weren't specially made for him they would be more or less crumpled like a soda can right now.

Octavian shrugged his shoulders," I could care less what your name means, _fish-cake,_ " He emphasized," I'm just realizing that the Fifth Cohort is actually where you belong," He scoffed," You're nothing more than mediocre."

Before Naruto could form a rather irrational response, Octavian was forced to raise his shield in order to block the slash of a golden gladius.

 _Wait, golden gladius?_

The one wielding the golden gladius gave Octavian no quarter. He brought his weapon back and thrust it forward in a series of attacks that differed in location, forcing Octavian to constantly keep his guard up. He attacked relentlessly, and Octavian was hard pressed to block all of the attempts at his person. The crease of concentration on his brow attested to that. The assault was relentless, and Octavian finally slipped up. Jason feigned with a slash to the right, and Octavian completely fell for it. His shield went in that direction, thinking that was where the next attack was meant to be, thus leaving his left wide open for Jason's shield bash, which left Octavian dazed a staggered.

The lull in action was enough time for two teens from the First and Second Cohorts, it didn't matter, to step up in an attempt to defeat Jason and Naruto. The two teens were systematically taken care of, one with a couple of blows to his jaw and ribs courtesy of Naruto, and other out groaning in pain on the floor due to a few well-placed blows from Jason. This distraction allowed Octavian to recover and find his footing. He raised his shield and had his sword at the ready for the attack that was sure to come.

Naruto exchanged a look with Jason, and he gave him a nod. The two turned their attention back to Octavian, ready to put him down and get what they came for. Jason twirled his gladius in his hand, and right when they were ready to blow past Octavian, a javelin with a symbol of a torch over a sword upon. The spear itself did not look any different from any others that Naruto had been able to catch a glance at, but this one set off his danger senses to the absolute max. It seemed to have an aura of power that just screamed battle and warfare.

This set him on edge. Whoever wielded this weapon must've been dangerous. They must've been some crazy, war-loving meat-head who…

"Two on one hardly seems fair _Grace_ , don'tcha think?" A light but strong feminine voice rhetorically asked.

…was actually not some crazy, war-loving meat-head, but actually that girl, Reyna. The scary one who threatened too…

The person dropped down from higher up and landed next to, Naruto was guessing, her spear.

Naruto saw the leery look on Jason's face at the tone of voice Reyna had used when addressing him.

She ripped her spear out of the ground, and pointed it at Jason. Due to the uneven lighting of the torches that littered the ground, a menacing shadow was cast across her tanned features.

The almost murderous look she wore also helped a lot.

"You do remember my promise earlier today, _Grace_?" A mocking smile bloomed onto her lips," Or did the memory get lost in that giant head of yours?"

All traces of caution left his friend as the insult registered in his ears. He grit his teeth at the jab at his features. His head wasn't that big…His body was just too small for it at the moment.

"I haven't forgotten _Ramirez_ ," He replied. Jason took a ready stance, shield and sword at the ready, and spoke up again," We can settle this right here and now on whose better _Ramirez_."

The girl scoffed, but got into a ready stance of her own, shield up protecting her body, and spear pointing out from behind it.

The two began circling each other and Reyna commanded aloud," Octavian! Deal with his friend with the unusual weapons while I show Grace over here what it means to be outclassed."

With her piece spoken, she lunged at Jason with thrust of her long spear. Jason lowered himself behind his shield even more and deflected the blow with his shield. He thrust his sword towards her midsection, but the blow was danced away from.

Their fight was now on.

Naruto turned his attention back to Octavian who scoffed at being commanded, but ultimately decided to try and "deal with" him. Naruto readied his Tonfas, and Octavian readied his sword and shield.

Naruto attacked first, punching with his left as bait, and Octavian raised his shield to block the blow. As he wanted, his punch was deflected, but Naruto already had his follow up strike primed to unleash. He spun his tonfa around in his other hand, gaining that extra reach, and swung at Octavian's head.

Octavian ducked the swing and reciprocated with a thrust from his sword. Naruto flipped his tonfa downwards and hit the sword away from his body. He turned his body and focused his attention on the vulnerable limb that was now in the open. He spun the opposite tonfa handle in his hand and swung down onto Octavian's forearm twice. The two strikes landed with dual **THUDS** and caused Octavian to let go of the sword.

Octavian threw his shield forward once more, leaning his body weight into it, but Naruto was ready this time and crossed his tonfa in front of him, absorbing the impact and only sliding back a little. Now at a severe disadvantage, Octavian was only able to play the defensive side of things. He tried to make a pathway towards his sword, but Naruto's assault was relentless.

Strikes came from left and right, up and down, and the strength behind them was causing Octavian's arm holding the shield to go numb. Naruto's brow creased as he prepared for his next maneuver he was sure would end this.

Once more his forearm muscles flexed and his veins became much more pronounced. His knuckled cracked and popped, and his biceps became acutely bigger. Instead of a burning sensation and red coloring, this time a cool feeling and a dark blue outline began to be excreted from Naruto's arms.

This was his chakra

Unlike his other two energy sources, his chakra is what he had the most mastery of, but it was the least powerful. His dad had told him that until he finished going through his puberty, his chakra levels wouldn't be potent enough to combat with some of the Gods' higher tier enemies. Still though, now was a time to use his chakra as he had the best control over this one, and he didn't want to accidentally crush all of Octavian's ribs…

…on second thought.

Nah, he wasn't worth the backlash that would more than likely come his way afterwards. Getting back to business, Naruto tenses his legs in preparation, channeling an acute amount through his thighs and calves, and then rocketed towards Octavian. The force he had blasted off with broke through the hard upper layer of dirt and forced an imprint of his feet into the second layer. A trail of light blue was left in his wake, which dissipated into blue flecks afterwards.

Octavian tried to keep up, and was barely successful for a moment due to being trained to see fast flying arrows through the air, but his reflexes weren't. His eyes widened, and he tried to raise his shield in time to block the blow that he predicted would come from his front side.

 **WHOOSH**

All he felt was wind.

Naruto had anticipated his basic block and one upped him. He stepped forward, planted his feet and burst around to Octavian's unprotected hind side. It was time to try that technique his father had told him about.

Flashback

 _A robot stood in front of a ten year old Naruto and had a screen on his chest. On the screen was his dad, Vulcan, and he was currently explaining a technique to his son._

"… _eated that technique to humiliate the people who thought they were the stuff," His gravel like voice explained._

 _Naruto sat there with wide eyes, amazed that such a technique existed. It was the single most humiliating technique he had ever heard of. And to know his old man knew it!_

 _Naruto hopped to his feet in an instant and grabbed the sides of screen," Teach me it. Teach me it. Teach me it!" He pleaded to his father._

 _Vulcan rubbed his bald head and an amused smile form onto his face. His son had always been easy to excite, much like his mother, and that's what made it so nostalgic._

" _Okay Naruto," He replied and Naruto stopped hopping, but grew a grin so wide it threatened to split his face in half," Sit down and let go of my robot, and I'll begin explaining it to you."_

 _Vulcan was half amazed and half amused at the speed his progeny used. He'd have to see one day how mercury stacked up against him in race. Maybe some special shoes to amplify hi-_

" _Daaaaadd!"_

 _Vulcan snapped back to reality and saw the unamused face his son wore._

 _Now if he was Minato, he would've sheepishly admitted to his mistake of wandering off into day dream land, but he was now Vulcan, and he didn't make mistakes. Plus his son's head was already big enough, and if it got any bigger it would pop. So he spoke on as if he didn't momentarily forget his son was right in front of him._

" _The technique is very basic, but it needs a very high amount of chakra control to get the desired results," He began. He saw the shift in posture form his son go from over excited to attentive, and a barely noticeable smile grew on his face as he continued._

" _Now, you have to get behind them and have the tiger seal formed ready. You channel your chakra into your fingertips or whatever you're holding an-"_

Flashback End

 _And thrust_.

"Konohagakure Hidden Secret Taijutsu Technique: One Thousand Years of Death!"

Naruto's tonfa made contact with Octavian's hind quarters, and for a second it seemed all was silent. A red embarrassed blush bloomed across Octavian's face before all he knew was pain from his behind.

Almost like a rocket, Octavian blasted off into the air, and everyone stopped fighting for a second to watch the spectacle of one of their own wailing as he flew through the air with as much grace as that cow they heard jumped over the moon. Head and eyes fooled his ascent and then descent through the air, and the unavoidable impact with Hannibal's butt. Octavian slowly slid off of the elephant's rear end and landed onto the ground with a dull **Thud**. He groaned in pitifully in pain, as smoke slowly rose from his bottom.

Everybody, was ready to laugh until their guts hurt, but a sudden war cry from behind them halted all thoughts.

The Third Cohort had successfully snuck around the back uncontested.

Oh how the tides turn. Now, with their unprotected flank under attack, The First and Second Cohorts, despite their skill, started to fall. This was the opportunity Naruto was hoping for.

He glued his tonfa onto his back with a little chakra, and began running towards the nearest wall. In one incredible leap he grabbed onto the second level platform and hauled himself up. An archer seemed to notice his climb and ran at him with an unsheathed dagger. Naruto decided he did not need his tonfa to take care of any opposition he met up here.

The teen slashed at him, but Naruto swayed the other way. He grabbed the teen's forearm with his right hand and launched a straight left into his face. The punch connected with the teen's nose and he staggered back, but due to Naruto's grip, he did not move an inch. Another punch rebounded off of the poor boy's face, more than likely making him see entire planets let alone stars. Naruto turned, putting the teen's arm over his shoulder, and monkey flipped the boy onto his back. He landed with a painful wheeze and did not try to get up.

Naruto raised his head and saw the banner waving, only being defended by a few guards. He started running towards them, ungluing his tonfa from his back as he went. Another archer noticed him running towards her and drew back and arrow. She raised her bow towards him and fired the blunt arrow. Like something out of a movie, Naruto bent backwards and slid under the arrow. It flew over his head harmlessly, and didn't do a thing to stop his movement.

Before the girl could draw another arrow, Naruto was in her face with his tonfa. She tried to raise it in a pitiful attempt to block, but Naruto aimed towards her stomach. A jab met her midsection, then an extended tonfa strike cracked her across the jaw. He brought up the tonfa he jabbed into her stomach, twirled its handle, and brought it down onto the crown of her helmeted head. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she crumbled to the floor in a heap.

By now the three teens, two males and one female noticed his intentions, and stepped up in an attempt to stop him. The first teen met him with a sword slash, but Naruto hit it down with his tonfa, spun the other one in his hand and swung it down onto his head much like the archer-girl before him. He hit the boy with a quick strike across the jaw, one to his shoulder, and finally a double hit to both sides of his jaw. Naruto finished him with a sweep of the legs, and that was one defender down.

From his crouched position, Naruto rolled forward, past the girl who stepped up to take her fallen comrades place. Out of his roll he hit the teen behind with a straight kick to the chest, pushing him back and stunning him. He immediately raised a tonfa in defense the thrust the girl gave him, and batted it aside. Partially recovered, the teen who took the foot to the chest, came right back and tried thrust of his own. Naruto deflected this one to the side, and felt his danger sense tingle once more.

Without looking, he blocked the swing that was coming for his head, and tried to swing at her with his free hand. Once more his senses tingled, and he was forced to block a strike coming from the other direction. He spun and slapped the swipe away with his two tonfa. He continued his spin, and lashed out with an extended tonfa towards thrust that came from the girl. This was how it went on for a few seconds. He was on the defensive for the moment, ducking under, swaying away, or deflecting blows that came from the two combatants he, and he admits to it, foolishly rolled between.

They were good. Teamwork was almost flawless, and Naruto was given no breathing room. They must've seen him take out several of their friends, and decided to go all out against him. He needed to end this.

He got his opportunity when the boy went for an overhead slash. Naruto blocked it with his tonfa, and swung his other one at the boy's knee faster than he could raise his shield against. The blow brought him to one knee, but Naruto had to defend against the girl once more. She thrust at him, but overextended this time. He caught her arm under his arm pit and struck her forearm twice. The blows rained down on her arm and caused her to let go of her sword in pain. Naruto monkey flipped her over his shoulder and onto her kneeling friend.

The two were sent into a tangle of limbs and equipment, allowing Naruto to jump over the two and reach his goal. He glued the tonfa back onto his back, gripped the pole of the banner, and hoisted it into the air. He hollered at the top of his lungs in exhilaration and excitement. The banner waved back and forth in the air as he swung it.

He smiled widely. They had won

Swords dropped to the ground and head dropped in either disbelief or defeat. The others though, yelled and laughed in their own disbelief and elation. Naruto hopped down onto the first floor and was immediately surrounded by bodies and congratulations. To his own surprise he was lifted into the air, as teens cheered and jeered at the defeated First and Second Cohorts.

An idea struck Naruto while he was atop two pairs of shoulders. He started chanting," Fifth, fifth, fifth, fifth, fifth!"

Like a domino effect, others caught on and soon the night air was filled with the reciting of "Fifth". Times were changing, and the Fifth Cohort's reputation was on the rise.

Deep within the earth, in one of his many blacksmiths, stood Vulcan. He watched on through one of his flying camera robots at the victory, and his son being hoisted into the air. Being alone, he let a smile bloom across his red face. Yes, his child would do great things at Camp Jupiter. He was close to deciding to send him to the other camp, but something told him that Camp Jupiter was where he belonged.

He did not expect his son's first friend there to be the son of Jupiter, and was almost furious about the fact Jupiter had sired yet another child. He wondered what made this one different from his sister in the case of him not running his son into a tree. Curious indeed, but he reasoned that Jupiter's Greek part was less rational when it came to making decisions like that when compared to his Roman side. He set his upgraded iPad down, he was slightly disappointed in its simplicity so he tinkered with it, and grabbed at his head. In a flash of gold, gone was his Roman aspect. He was now lame Hephaestus. Cosmetically, nothing really changed except for a minor shade change of his beard and skin color to a now more olive tone than a volcanic red.

He wondered what caused this unexpected switch, but realized the reasoning when he felt the godly signature of his brother enter his lonely abode once more.

"What do you want brother?" He asked as he turned around to address his brother, Hermes.

Hermes smiled, flashing his pearly white teeth," Now, I would've went on about how I just wanted to visit you Heph, but I actually have someone requesting your presence at the moment and she threatened to cut of my you-know-whats of I didn't bring you there with no delays," He said.

Hephaestus raised a brow," Who is she?"

Hermes smiled again, that dastardly smile that he smile when he knew something about the situation that you didn't.

"Oh you'll see," He said mysteriously.

"Wait, Herm-, "Hephaestus tried.

In a blur and a few flashes, Hephaestus didn't know how Hermes travelled like this in the first place, they had made it to their destination. Hermes deposited a groaning Hephaestus onto the cold marble floor and raced back out without a word.

Hephaestus dusted his blacksmiths apron off and stood up with slight difficulty. He looked around, and took in the chambers Hermes had deposited him into. He knew these chambers, he had personally customized all of them to their owner's desires. This one in particular was one he wanted to never ever come back to.

"Hello, son," He heard behind him.

Hephaestus turned around and looked at the speaker with an emotionless look and replied," Hello, _mother_."

He was in the chambers of Hera.

Like his wife so eloquently put it sometimes, shit. Oh shit indeed.

Ch.6 End


	7. Chapter 7: Assault on Mount Othrys

Yeah, it's me. Merry Christmas even though I know this is a little late. Have a happy New Year as well. Make sure you have a safe rest of the holidays, and be sure to enjoy. Other updates are coming, but they're being pain in the necks to write. This one was just the easiest of them to write for, so bam, here you go. This chapter is a doozy, as several things go down, and a timeskip happens. Yeah, a timeskip. There needed to be one here in order for me to be able to get to the HoO storyline, and get the ball rolling. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Once again, do all that favorite, follow and reviewing jazz, and have Happy Holidays. And drink some eggnog, that stuff is the bomb. Well the pumpkin spice flavor is, I'm not too sure about the others.

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kakakure- The versions of Hephaestus are not very different, because as I see it he had no need to become different like the others do to conform to the Roman society. All he had to do was make weapons, and essentially do the same job he's always been doing. His Vulcan aspect is just a little bit more work oriented and professional. They might confront each other, or a tomato might come flying through the window. I hope you're enjoying the story so far, and here is that update.

animemaniac66- Cool to see that this interested you. I wanted to make it a little different from the other Naruto Percy Jackson crossovers I've read.

Xsanoxx- Yes it does my friend, yes it does.

DannyPhantom619- First of all love the name, it's like a great big flash, anyways the answer to those is to keep reading and you'll find out in time.

NeutralPanda123-Thanks yo, I'm glad you're liking it so far. I'm glad that my fight scene was up to par as well. Here's that chapter you've been waiting for.

Naruto-phenex- Ah, portugese. I don't know it, but that's what translate is for, and I will continue it.

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Ch.7 starts now...

Hephaestus looked at his _mother_ with no type of emotion at all. It was like looking at a stranger for him. He held no warm emotions towards her. After what she did she was not his mother, his friend, not even an acquaintance of his. She was just Hera, Queen of Olympus in his eyes. He would show her the proper respect her title demanded, but that was it. It took him a few centuries, but he finally was able to release all of the anger, resentment, and hurt at what she did and what she didn't do afterwards. So now he was just stuck with…nothing. He didn't really care about her or most of the Gods that actually held seats, but his loyalty wasn't in question. When it will comes down to it, he would stand by his family against anyone or anything, and that was that.

A fiery brow raised in self-contemplation, then again that might've been a result of all of his talks with Hestia, but back to the main problem. He stood up as straight as his mechanical leg would allow him to and crossed his thick arms across his burly chest. He wanted to know why she wanted him here after all of the years of not speaking him or even looking at him.

"Why have you called me here, _mother_? After so many years of no interaction outside of meetings, and even those are few and far between, what could be so important for you actually taking time out of your day to speak with me?" He asked with a heavy mocking tone. On second thought maybe that resentment and anger hadn't fully dispersed.

Oh well.

His _mother_ hadn't changed over the many centuries of him knowing her. Her light brown hair was pulled back behind her ears into a curly ponytail that draped itself over her left shoulder. From her ears dangled glittering earrings that shined in the light of her chambers. Her slightly pointed chin and delicate facial features added to her elegant beauty. Finely shaped eyebrows, full eyelashes, with a slightly rounded nose which sat above two full lips completed her face. She wore a brilliant white robe that wrapped itself around her left shoulder and fell to her feet in elegant white waves. The robe was embroidered with golden highlights along the hem. She wore a golden belt around her waist and had multiple other golden accessories on her neck and wrists. She wore no sandals upon her feet due to her being inside her personal chambers. All in all Hera was a beautiful woman, and that was what people saw when they looked at her.

But not him, as, after being married to the goddess of beauty herself, most women tended to fall a little short in the looks category.

He looked into her amber eyes with his own matching ones, and waited for her reply. As he looked at her he noticed something was off about her. Instead of the icy, confident Hera he had always seen, this Hera looked rather uncomfortable, unsure.

Something was up.

His inner thoughts ceased when he heard he heard her speak up in that same level tone as she always had despite what Hephaestus believed," I called you here because I wanted to speak to you about something," She said.

His curiosity was peaked even more at that," What about?"

He wanted her to get to the center of whatever this was about. He'd rather not talk to her for any longer than was absolutely necessary. He had several projects he wanted to get to, and this was cutting into his time. There was that one with the-

"Why didn't you tell me?"

 _What_?

His inner musings on all the projects he could've been working on were destroyed at her question. Now he was curious and slightly wary of what she was talking about," What are you talking about? I haven't spoken to you since when you were telling me what you wanted inside of your personal chambers, and we both know how long ago that was."

Now, he may or may not have meant that in a mean way, but it was a fact nonetheless.

His _mom_ gave him a particularly annoyed look, and replied in an angry tone," Why didn't you tell me that you found yourself an actual **WIFE**!" She revealed to his shock. He had no words for, and his gaping expression left him open to even more words from Hera," I am the patron of **Marriage,** di-did you not expect for me to find out?! Unlike those other women that you decided to entertain, I felt your connection with her Hephaestus," Her voice went into an out-of-place downcast tone," Now I know I haven't been the best-,"

Hephaestus's shock at her finding out wore off at the words he just knew were about to come from her mouth. Pure heat wafted off of his skin, and smoke rose from his feet. His eyes burned light miniature suns or the center of a volcano, and, to his and Hera's surprise, a snarl rose from his lips.

Apparently that anger hadn't actually left him, go figure.

His beard began to flicker with embers and crackle like an open fire, and he allowed himself to embrace his anger this time around," Do not **dare** and try to say what you _know_. You do not know just the _degree_ of pure awfulness you've been to only me. You commit such a heinous act to one of your own, to your own **CHILD!** And do not try and apologize, you do not try and speak with me, you do not try and fix the mistake **you made.** You did not even raise me. I did not know who the Hades you were until I was told by Hestia! I even tried to win back your favor by protecting you from _Zeus's_ deplorable and insulting advances, only to be thrown off again which caused this!" He indicated to his now metal leg which was whirring and clanking with steam pouring out of it in order to adjust to the extremely high temperatures it was being put under due to Hephaestus's anger," You did not do a Gods damned thing about it either. I had to limp back to Olympus, and was only accepted back because I was now useful to you all. And through it all, all of my trials, you just sat back and watched my miserable life unfold."

Hera visibly flinched back, as if struck, by the words he spat at her and her expression became even more sorrow-filled. Her shoulders drooped as if a heavy weight now sat upon them, and her face flipped from its once youthful image to that of a weathered woman with more problems than what was deemed healthy. She stumbled back and reached for the long lounge chair that was behind her, and sat down on it heavily. Her arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders and she just sat there.

Hephaestus opened his mouth to release more of his anger at the woman who ruined his life before it could even be classified as one, the woman who he could honestly say was one of the only people he ever hated in his entire life, but was stuck speechless with no more words on his lips as gazed upon the weathered woman before him. His righteous anger left him, and he was stuck just standing there feeling nothing. He looked at the woman who he should be yelling at, screaming at for what she did to him. He should be yelling at her about just how much of a shitty life he had and how it was her fault. About the loneliness he felt when he was thrown off of Olympus for the second time, about the pain he felt physically and emotionally, about the betrayal he felt when she turned his back on him all those years ago. He should be yelling at her for having the audacity to try and bring him here and **demand** from him why he hadn't told her of his relationship with Kushina.

But none of that was there.

The heat coming from his body dimmed, the smoke lessened, and his leg stopped whirring from him calming down considerably. At this moment in time all he felt at the woman who he willingly called Queen and nothing more was…empathy.

Empathy or pity, he really couldn't tell.

He looked at Hera from where she now sat, and saw the slight shake of her shoulders and hiccups that came from her. She was crying. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, crying was something he never learned to deal with, mostly due to him living in isolation and having little to no interaction with other living beings. He heard murmurings coming from her, and, against his better judgment, stepped closer to hear what she was murmuring at the floor.

As he got closer his ears picked up what she was saying,"-orry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

That stilled him for a moment before his iron will stamped on the feeling and left him standing there. Her apologizing persisted on for longer and longer still until he decided enough was enough," Stop apologizing! It's getting annoying," He added the second part under his breath, too low for her to hear

Her head shot up and Hephaestus hid the wince from seeing the bags under her eyes and redness in them from crying. She sniffled a little and asked," And why should I gods damnit?! All of my life has been mistake after mistake concerning my family and my relationship. Most of you aren't even my own children except for Ares and you, and that is where I am the worst. With my own blood!" She cried," My own flesh and blood h-hate me! One's a blood hungry maniac who doesn't even see me as anything more than that lady who stand next to Zeus, the bastard, and the other would rather live with Cyclopes alone than bare to even look at his own mother for what she did to him! For Olympus's sake I turned my back on you, my own son! That's not what a mother is supposed to do!" She looked up at the roof before looking him in the eye with her own filled with regret and sadness and whispers," It used to hurt me so much, every single day, to see you as you are and to have the only person to blame for it being…me," She managed out before sobs rose once more from her throat.

Her hand rose to cover her mouth and took a sharp breath in, halting her tears for the moment before looking at him once more and continuing," I have done nothing, but wrong you for your entire life, and have done naught a thing to try and fix it. Maybe it was because of my own fear of one of my only sons truly hating me, but that is no excuse for all of the pain you had to endure. And now all I'm left with is an empty heart and a broken family."

This was not at all anything he had been expecting when he realized he was in Hera's chambers. He had given up any chance of him receiving any sort of an apology from her, but to actually hear the admittance come from her mouth in this form was…strange and unexpected. In his mind he had doubts of her actually telling the truth, but if the one thing he knew about Hera was that she never ever wished to look vulnerable in front of anybody. She was a lady who demanded respect from any and all who knew her, and would be satisfied by nothing less. That is why as he looked at her in the fragile state she willingly set herself in, in front of him of all people, he felt that what she was telling him was the gods honest truth.

 _I just know I'm going to regret this_. Hephaestus ran a hand over his bald head and sighed deeply. As he thought about it, maybe it was due to the past few decades of his life and his recent relationship with Kushina that he found himself acting differently than he would have before.

He began, "Her name was Kushina and…"

* * *

Time skip 3 Years.

" **FIRE!** "

At the command the Roman Artillery unleashed their ammunition upon the deathly black walls of Mount Othrys, headquarters of the Titans. For the past three years the fragile peace there once was destroyed with the resurrection of the King of the Titans, Kronos. With his mysterious, to the Romans, return the balance of power between Gods and Monsters shifted, and the Gods were pushed onto their back foot. As it were the Gods did not have the manpower to combat each threat the plagued them during what was being dubbed the Second Olympian War. The threats of the terrible children of Ouranos and Gaia, backed with the seemingly limitless supply of monsters, and irrefutably the most fearsome monster of them all, Typhon. These threat painted a bleak picture for the Gods and their place on Olympus. Their reign seemed to be at its end, it all seemed hopeless.

That was where they came in.

Demigods. The children of the very Gods who were now in peril, were now tasked with becoming the backbone of this war. They would be the ones taking the brunt of it all, fighting in the name of Olympus. Their numbers would counter that of the monsters' and give the Gods a chance to do what they had to. They would become what was going to change the tide in this war.

But even amongst themselves, there were those who believed that the Gods' time was done and over. Those were the thoughts of the unwanted, the forgotten, demigods who never got the chance to find out who and what they were. They blamed the Gods for all the wrong they had experienced in their lives, and joined the side of the Titans. It was cruel having to strike down another human being, someone who could've been your brother or sister if the right choices were made, but that was the reality.

For the past three years they were given no reprieve. The monsters seemed to have a limitless reservoir of things to throw at them, but they were driven back time and time again. With them being Roman, they were trained for times like these, but it didn't stop it from taking its toll on them. Some crumbled under the pressure and retired, others died in battle, but some flourished under the flames of battle.

Three in particular.

Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona, and Naruto Uzumaki son of Vulcan. These three demigods became somewhat legendary during the past three years. They each were powerful, and literally changed the tide of several battles. Some monsters even fled when faces with one of them, tartarous forbid all three. Together these three were unstoppable. It did not matter what Cohort they were from, they were just that good. Young they may've been, but their skills more than made up for it.

It was early August when the Praetors were told by the Gods to strike a fatal blow to the Titan army. What were they ordered to do? They were meant to storm the Titan's base, Mount Othrys, and destroy it. They were to take 200 of their best demigods to take the mountain and destroy the Titan's base.

So 200 demigods from Camp Jupiter were chosen, the trio included, and they marched on the Mountain (which wasn't that far due to it being located in the same city as the camp). Once the mountain in range they were immediately under attack by the monsters that defended the base. The initial force of monsters were repelled and forced into a retreat, giving the Roams enough time to set up their artillery. They most likely were not expecting such a force to be banging on their door, as it seemed a little too easy.

Way too easy.

 **BOOM! CRASH**!

The walls of Mount Othrys cracked and crumbled under the heavy fire, and Naruto could smell the fire and smoke in the air. He himself was covered in a layer of golden dust from the monsters he had destroyed. To his right stood his best friend and brother in all but blood, Jason grace who was staring ahead at the black fortress they were meant to destroy. The past three years had been something else. They had lost a lot. Tyler had died a year ago defending the younger kids in the from a Hellhound raid. Naruto and Jason arrived too late and found him dead without his left arm sitting in a pile of golden dust, and the younger kids hiding in the storage closest with the door locked.

It was after that day he and Jason picked up their training in earnest, somehow getting Reyna to participate as well, and allowing the three to become close friends. After the funeral, Jason was elected Centurion of the Fifth Cohort to fill the space Tyler left open, and Reyna was elected as one of the Centurions for the First Cohort as well. From there skirmishes to full on battles occurred one after the other and week after week for the demigods of Camp Jupiter. Over the course he had grown substantially. He now stood at 5 foot 9 and was well muscled across his entire body. He switched up his battle gear too.

He now wore a dark red long-sleeved undershirt. Atop of the shirt were pieces of armor that covered his chest, back, shoulders, forearms, and elbows. The pieces were sewn onto the undershirt and were interconnected almost like an exo-skeleton. On his legs he wore black straight legged pants that ended close to his foot, and had knee pads and shin guards also colored black. His red hair had grown even longer, and Naruto was now having to pull it back into a ponytail in order to keep it out of his eyes. On his right shoulder, engraved in gold, was the symbol of his father, Vulcan, and on his left shoulder in red was the Uzumaki swirl, the symbol of his mother.

In his hands were his distinct tonfa, but instead of them being dulled, they were now bladed. Where there were once just blunted ends were now sharp blades. Like the color of the tonfa, the blades were also different. The red one held a polished black blade with a jagged edge, while the blue one held a sharp gleaming silver blade. They were absolutely perfect in their design, but one thing kept nagging him about them.

They did not have a name.

All great weapons had a name, or at least that's what his dad told him. Once a weapon had a name it, and the wielder, became undeniably bad ass. It also just seemed like the right thing to do for the tonfa. They were his main weapons of choice, besides his fists, and he didn't see that changing any time soon.

" **FIRE!** "

 **VWOOSH! BOOM!**

His train of thought was derailed as the next salvo of artillery was let loose, and impacted against the heaven-reaching walls and towers. The dark colored walls cracked and gained scorch marks upon their walls.

Naruto watched the damage, but his attention was quickly taken as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Jason, who, in the three years, did not change much. His blonde hair stayed short and a little spiky, and while his features matured, they essentially stayed the same sharp features as before. The only other difference was the helmet he wore, as the plume now depicted his new rank of Centurion.

Jason flashed a smile at his best-friend, receiving one in return, before it was replaced by a look of focus and determination.

"It's time to get this done," He said aloud to Naruto.

Naruto nodded his head, and shook out all of the pre-battle jitters that plagued him. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a bit nervous, he had heard the tales of Mount Othrys and seeing it in real life blew whatever image he created clean out of the water. The fortress, as there is no better term for it, even had the dark circling clouds above it like those evil castles you see in movies. Everything about it put his senses on edge, and it didn't help that they knew next to nothing about what they would be facing inside. It was a surprise to all of them that the resistance was this soft so far.

It made him wonder where the Titans actually were.

Naruto gave a side glance to his friend and asked," What do you think is in there, cuz you know as well as I do that this can't be all there is," He turned and faced his friend front on," Where are the Titans that got all of Olympus all worked up? They couldn't be that stupid to leave their main base defended with a few subpar monsters?"

Jason furrowed his brow as well," I know. This entire thing is giving me a bad feeling," he shrugged," but I'm not going to complain if this is just going to be easy for us," He shook his head," Come on, whatever is in there we can handle. The Gods wouldn't task this to us if they didn't think we could handle it," Jason padded his friend on the shoulder one more time before turning forward, face in complete seriousness, and moving up to the front with the other selected leaders, the Centurion of the First Cohort, Centurion of the Third Cohort, and the two Praetors.

Naruto took one last glance at the shadowy fortress, before falling in line next to Gwen, who was chosen along with himself. She flashed him a quick smile that he reciprocated.

One of the Praetors, a daughter of Vesta and not too shabby with sword from what he'd seen, raised her sword in the air, making everybody silent. She then dropped her hand, and began marching forward.

Her counterpart, a legacy of Mars, bellowed," Forward!" and began marching next to the daughter of Vesta with Jason and the Centurions of the First and Second Cohort marching a few feet behind them. As one the 200 Roman demigods marched their way up to Mount Othrys, the sounds of their footfall creating a deep bass in the otherwise silent area.

Methodically they scaled upwards to their destination. As they got higher the visibility got worse, but they continued on. Naruto grew a small grimace on his face. They had to be getting close, and they had met no resistance yet. No Hellhounds, no empousai, no Cyclopes, no nothing, and that made him worry.

" **Be on your guard here. There is something going on in this place. It smells of cold, reptiles, and ozone,"** Naruto heard the Kyuubi say.

Naruto was puzzled at what the Kyuubi said. What could possib-

 **THWACK**

"BRYCE!"

 **THWACK**

It was like everything slowed down. Before Naruto could even react he saw two arrows appear in the throats of the two Praetors. Like a house of cards the two collapsed to the ground, red liquid spurting from their necks from the puncture wound. He saw them futilely clutch at their throats, their own minds not processing what had happened before it was too late.

"Tetsudo formation!" Jason's voice rang through his ears.

Everything came back to him in an instant, and he became on guard. The Roman demigods around him snapped into their missile protection formation, front row lowered shields to the ground while the rest raised theirs above their heads. He would mourn the two now dead Praetors after this was all over, he had to see where those arrows came from. He strained his eyes to see through the fog, but it was too thick. He raised his tonfa in a defensive position. There were bound to be more where those came from.

He was right in his assumption. His keen eyes caught the arrow speeding towards him, and he swung at it, snapping it in half. He was ready for more arrows to be loosed in their direction, but strangely no more came. In their place came hissing. Cautiously the demigods looked past their shield to see what was making the hissing sound.

The fog was swept backwards until it all disappeared to reveal what awaited them. His eyes widened at the sight. Literally hundreds of Scythian dracanae stood there, all armed with sharp double headed axes, halberds, sword and shield, or dual swords. They stood there, hissing and sitting at them, weapons held ready to cut them to pieces. Their two reptilian legs, or tails, writhed in anticipation, ready for battle. Naruto felt a drip of cold sweat slide down his face, and he gulped down the lump that had formed. He felt a shiver run down his body, and a cold feeling overcame him.

He readied his tonfa, something else was coming.

A chill suddenly overcame him, which had never happened to him before due to the Kyuubi and his own unnatural body heat. He breathed through his nose, releasing an acute amount of his chakra, and heating his body back to normal. He glanced to his left and saw the shivers Gwen was trying to not let affect her, but he knew better. He quickly surveyed all of the demigods around them and saw that they were all affected by the sudden chill. He saw the minute shivers that ran across their muscles like electrical currents, and decided to do something about it.

Unlike his chakra, which could only heat himself up due to it being attuned only to himself, his godly side was able to effect outwards as well. And since his father held volcanos in his domain, that made his godly energy hot.

Very hot.

He pulled at his godly energy, feeling its warm touch, and pushed it outwards. He felt it release outwards, but held it contained to just circulate himself. His body gained a light crimson hue, and his muscles flexed and tensed at the use. Like a warm summer breeze, he saw the effects immediately. The demigods stopped shivering and refocused their attention back to the hundreds of dracanae in front of them.

The dracanae began to move, and they all prepared for their charge, but instead of moving forward, the hundreds of dracanae split right down the middle, almost in fear. Down the makeshift aisle walked an absolutely massive figure. Naruto could feel with each step the behemoth took, the temperature seemed to drop ten degrees more. He saw the trail of icy flakes and mist the creature left in its wake, and as it got closer, it shrunk and its identity was revealed.

"Hmm, you demigods have causing me more trouble than it's worth, but I expected this to happen after all," The creature said in a matter-of-fact manner. His orotund voice leveled out in a deep baritone, and his breath left his mouth in a frosty mist.

It was Koios, Titan god of intelligence, foresight, and Lord of the North.

He stood at an intimidating eight and a half feet tall, and was built like a lumberjack. His skin was a pale blue, and his eyes were a blue-white as cold as a glacier. On his face he had a beard the same color as his eyes that constantly dropped large snowflakes he guessed were only a little smaller than his own fist, and his face was marked with a multitude of scars, some big some small. His tree trunk like arms were behind his back and his feet were squared forward like an army general would stand. His chin was round, and his jawline looked like it had been chiseled out of ice. He stood ramrod straight, making himself seem even taller than he was.

He was draped in elaborate pale black armor, Stygian Iron was what his mind was telling him, with a single diamond in the breastplate blazing like a star from the sky. His helmet was formed like a bear's head, and the eyes on it seemed to be staring into him particularly. On his back lie the biggest piece of weaponry he had ever laid his eyes on. The sword was massive and looked to be the size of a surfboard. It was all black, probably being made out of Stygian Iron as well, with pale ice crackling across its length. It was from that sword that Naruto could feel nothing, but pure frigid cold.

Utter silence enveloped the soon to be battleground at the appearance of the Titan, and Naruto could see some of the demigods slackened with disbelief or shifting with unease.

The Titan unlatched his hands from his back and pointed a finger in their direction.

Or to be more specific, at Jason.

The Titan's clear voice rang out," You. You lead this assault, spawn of Zeus," His pale lips opened a little, like he just realized something, before speaking again," Ah, not Zeus. That's the other one. You are a son of Jupiter, are you not?"

Jason shivered at the feeling of having the Titan's finger being just pointed in his direction, but he stamped it down and relished in the feeling of his energy running through him. Without a mental command he stood up, and addressed the Titan," Yes, my dad is Jupiter, but no I do not le-,"

"DO NOT try and correct _me_ half-blood filth!" the Titan's voice cut Jason off in a sudden exclamation," You, who is lower than even the monsters next to me, hold no authority nor merit to even begin to speak to me like an equal. I am the Titan of intelligence as well as foresight, do not try and correct me," he finished.

He pointed again, but this time it was not at Jason, but at him and Reyna. Naruto felt an unnatural force overtake his muscles in a cold iron grip, and try and force him to move forward. Suddenly a quick burst of the Kyuubi's own chakra broke the hold the Titan had onto him. Naruto stopped abruptly, still reeling from the sudden clash of energies within his own body.

 _Wha-_

A guttural snarl came from the Kyuubi," **Do not let him get ahold of you again,** " was all he heard before he felt the connection fade away once more.

The Titan turned his frigid stare onto him, but this time Naruto could not feel the cold. He stepped forward and he yelled," What's the big idea trying to control me, huh?!"

Koios raised an unseen eyebrow, the boy breaking free from the mental suggestion he had placed was not something he predicted. Nevertheless, he had garnered the attention of the ones he wanted. He had foreseen these three to be the biggest problems, but ultimately deemed them not a threat. They might be children of some the more powerful gods, but they were not them.

Completely ignoring the question yelled at him he spoke," You three, son of Jupiter, daughter of Bellona, and son of Vulcan, have become a thorn in the side of Kronos's army," he reached for the giant sword on his back," and he has tasked me the duty of removing you," He gripped the handle and began to pull," Trash such as you do not deserve to feel the touch of my blade, but out of my respect for Kronos," He pulled the blade from his back and pointed it towards the three," I'll make an exception this time," He slashed downward with his sword in a show of power, and the air could be seen splitting in half," You, dracanae, kill the rest, but do not touch those three."

At this the Titan began walking forward while the hundreds of dracanae began to charge, more like half slithered half ran, them hissing and spitting curses.

Naruto moved forward to stand next to Jason and Reyna, who wore similar looks of alarm and trepidation, and he was sure his own face mirrored theirs. They had just been told that a Titan was going to go out of his way to kill them. Naruto gripped his tonfa in a white knuckled grip, he had no plans to die by some overgrown snowman.

The dracanae got closer, and so did Koios.

"I don't know about you two, but getting killed by frosty over there is not something I planned for to happen," He joked aloud to the two of them. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a little bit of the trepidation leave them at his attempt at alleviating the weight of the situation.

Jason chuckled a little and Reyna smirked a little as she spoke," Only you could joke at a time like this, Naruto."

They got closer.

Jason twirled his sword, a trick he learned and mastered, and smirked," But what he said goes for me too. Thanks for that Naruto. I almost got _cold_ feet, Get it?"

They were only a few meters away now, and the dracanae split into two halves, making sure they wouldn't run into the three Koios deemed for himself.

Reyna tightened the grip she held on her spear, and hoisted her shield in front of her, and shook her head in amusement," That was utterly horrible, Grace."

Naruto groaned and shook his own head at the terrible pun," Come on man, I thought we talked about you and your puns?" He twirled his tonfa, and held his arms up next to head as a boxer would and turned his gaze onto the towering figure before them.

Jason just smirked, hoisted his own shield, and readied his gladius," Come on guys don't be so _cold_."

Their groans were lost in the sound of the opposing sides clashing in a cacophony of colliding metal, grunts, and hissing.

The trio charged at the Titan with Jason at the head, but Naruto was the one to attack first. He pushed chakra into his amrs increasing their strength, and leaped at the Titan. His unorthodox move was unprepared for if the widened eyes of the Titan was anything to go by. As a result, an attempt at any defense failed, and Naruto's slash across the jaw sliced across the Titan's face. He landed behind Koios in a crouch, and spun around on the balls of his feet. He twirled the tonfa in his right hand, and jabbed out at Koios's back leg with the blunt side of his tonfa. The powerful jab bent the knee forward, and staggered the Titan.

Jason followed next, and bashed his shield against the Titan's knee, feeling something give way and earning an alarmed cry of pain. He jabbed at the nearest arm with his gladius, but the Stygian armor held, and his gladius bounced off. The failed attempt allowed the Titan to regain some of his bearing, and he swung a fist in Jason's direction. The fist barreled toward him like a freight train, but his reflexes were enough and he rolled under it.

Dashing in after Jason's failed jab, Reyna swung around to the side of the jarred Titan, and took advantage of the unarmored underarm the Titan exposed when he swung at Jason. She thrust upwards with her spear, carving a gash into the Titan's armpit and earning yet another yell of pain from the Titan. She pulled back her spear, which was now bathed in golden ichor, but had to roll away from the backhand strike that came at her.

During Reyna's assault on Koios, Naruto continued his own by slashing the Achilles tendons of the Titan, furthing his crippled state. His danger instincts flared, and he had to duck under the blast of frigid icicles that came from the Titan's back. He dashed underneath the now kneeling Titan, and came back up in front of his face. He held up the royal blue Tonfa and channeled his chakra into it, now he had to get the Titan to look at him.

"Hey! Jack Frost!" He hollered right in the face of the Titan.

Koios snarled rabidly, and looked at the half-blood who gave him yet another scar on his face.

Naruto smiled at him," Gotcha."

The Titan with control over the entire north suddenly began to feel uneasy, and woozy. He knew something was up, as the arrogant blonde with the insufferable smile on his face became three, and then five.

Naruto smirked even wider when the Titan groaned, and dropped his giant broadsword onto the ground, leaving himself wide open for attack.

Just when he was getting ready to attack a blast of cold air blasted him off of his feet and onto his back a few meters away. He landed with a thud, and groaned at the dull pain in his back. He heard two similar groans to his left and right, and realized that Jason and Reyna were in similar situations. Naruto gathered himself up as quickly as he could, and stood set himself in a defensive position. If he was still able to send them back with a blast in the state he was in, they needed to not let him get any type of offense flowing.

The trio exchanged a look, and Reyna was the one to speak up," We need some way to knock him out, and keep him down. We can't kill him, and the Gods are the only ones with the power to banish him back into Tartarus."

Jason kept a wary eye on the trying-to-recuperate Titan, and added," I can summon a lightning bolt on him, but after that I'd be done for the day, and we don't know if he has some sort of plan b hidden still inside of the fortress."

The other two nodded in agreement. They had him on the ropes, but didn't have the fire power to put him down for good. They needed something with enough fire power to put him down for good, or at least capture him.

Naruto saw the Titan begin to rise and notified the other two, breaking them from their thoughts," Well, we can think of a plan later. We need to keep him on the ropes."

He got two determined nods before the trio rushed into battle once more with the godly level being.

Koios staggered up, a thin but deep line across the bridge of his nose oozing golden fluid, and snarled that kind of snarl that seemed like between a wolf and a lion. He grabbed his sword once more, his anger allowing him to regain his senses.

"You impudent half-breeds! I will wipe you from this plane of existence!" He yelled at them.

He swiped his sword at them, sending a blast of frigid air that was dodged quickly. Naruto again took the lead, and instead of leaping at the Titan, he took a normal route. He reinforced his arms with chakra, and deflected the blow from the great sword upwards leaving the Titan's midsection exposed. Jason followed, and took advantage of this. He bull rushed the Titan with his shield up and rammed it straight into his belly. This knocked the wind out of Koios, but did not stagger him. Jason rolled under the Titan, and jammed his shield into his calf trying to hurt his legs even further but he did not have Naruto's unnatural strength. Koios did not even feel the blow, and Jason was unprepared for the icicle that slammed into his chest with the force of a sledgehammer.

After Jason was blasted away, Reyna and Naruto attacked either side of Koios. Koios swung his sword downward at Naruto, but his enhanced strength was able to deflect the blow away. As a testament to the Titan's mastery of the sword, an even quicker slash came cutting towards Naruto who had no time to dodge. He crossed his arms, and braced for impact.

 **CLANG**

The sword connected with his tonfa, and Naruto was sent into the air as a result. He slid across the ground, and had to bite his tongue to not scream out in pain. He looked down at his arms, and could see that they were bent at an unnatural angle. He hissed in pain as he heard the bones reset themselves, and begin healing due to the Kyuubi's chakra. He knew he was no good until his arms were completely healed, so he took this time to think of a plan to keep this Titan down.

Reyna huffed as she ducked under yet another deceptively quick swipe of that absurdly giant sword. _Honestly, who needed such a large sword?_ She rolled under yet another strike, and saw an opening for her to thrust her spear into the side of his leg. Her attack failed to even scratch the unnatural armor the Titan wore, and she cursed under breath as she backed off in an effort to regain her breath. Oh how she wanted to wipe that stupid grin of his stupid face.

"Are you getting tired there, _half-breed_?" His arrogant voice asked," Those two aren't here to help you."

As much as she hated to admit it, she did not hold the destructive power Naruto and Jason did. Yes, she could more times than not kick their butts six ways to Sunday in a straight up sword fight, but when you included the other stuff, there was no contest. She could hear Naruto groaning in pain behind, and she couldn't see Jason due to the Titan's bulk. She felt the air around her turn even colder, and her eyes widened at the sight before her.

Koios's sword began to glow an unnatural pale blue, and his eyes and the diamond in his breastplate responded in kind to the rise in power. The ground around his feet cracked, and icicle rose into existence from his power alone. She could feel the heavy pressure his monstrous power in the air, and it made it hard to breathe. She began to lose feeling in her limbs, as if she was frozen in an entire block of ice. Her breaths came in shorts gasps for air, and her breath came out in short huffs. She could see the frost edging up onto her shield and spear, slowly moving towards her like icy fingers reaching for her throat.

This was the power of a Titan. This was what they had to face. This was unreal.

Koios laughed boastfully," So long, demi-god!"

He brought his sword downwards into a heavy two handed strike that cratered the ground it impacted against. From his sword came an engulfing wave of pale energy that carved through the ground, uplifting dirt, rock, and whatever else was in its way leaving a fissure that was frozen solid in its wake.

Jason, who finally regained his bearings, saw the crescent shaped attack travelling towards his friend with despair and desperately cried out to her," **REYNA!** "

Naruto made it back to his feet, but his arms dangled uselessly from there sockets. He had to sit and watch the entire exchange, as he came to the conclusion that nothing short of God or something with similar power would be able to take that thing down. He knew what he had to do, and was prepared to before it all went down shit's creek when that surfboard Koios called a sword began to glow.

As it got closer he whispered," No."

 **THU-THUMP**

His muscles flexed, as he pulled onto the only power source he knew would be able to get him there in time. Damn the consequences. It got closer, ripping into the ground as it went.

"No."

 **THU-THUMP THU-THUMP**

He began running. _Faster_. His quadriceps pushed and pulled, as they abided to their master's will. Powered by unearthly power. His hair grew shaggier, and the ponytail it was in blew apart. His canines grew longer, sharper, and the whisker marks on his face darkened.

In a more guttural voice," No!"

 **THU-THUMP THU-THUMP THU-THUMP**

His legs pumped like steam pistons, as he got closer and closer. It bubbled out of him like a fresh wave of lava, but he didn't even feel it. He was locked onto one single thing. _Faster damnit!_ It cloaked his body, covering his body. Around his eyes black lines encircled them, enhancing their vision. His vision changed, as his pupils became slit, and his eyes were imbued with the same power as the rest of his body. His hair stood on end, making it into a blood red mane. His nails were forcefully grown until they resembled claws that looked like they'd cut you if you stared at them for too long. He was getting closer, but so was it. He had to make it, he had to, and there were no alternatives.

" **NO!** "

He yelled, reaching for her, digging deep for something, anything to grab his friend, and he felt something come from his hand. He felt whatever it was dig into the ground, and he pulled himself with it. He tensed his muscles, and flared his chakra cloak, forming two thick, bubbly arms to form out in front of him. A half second later the Titan's attack connected, and the world erupted into white. It was a second of aching pain, and then complete darkness.

* * *

Reyna could do nothing but watch as the thing ripped and roared its way towards her, tearing up the ground in a terrible show of power. She knew even with her enhanced reflexes, she could not dodge it. It was coming too fast. Her mind went into a state of peace. She could hear nothing but her own heartbeat and breathing. In her mind she thought of the short but tough early life that formed her into the girl she was.

She thought about her older sister, and realized she'd most likely never get to see her again and thank her for all she had done for the two of them. She remembered the day she fully entered the camp, and her first meeting with Jason Grace which wasn't a pretty one for sure, and realized she'd never get the chance to actually apologize to him for her foul behavior towards him because of her own petty jealousy. She remembered the past three years, and how she formed unbreakable bonds with the two boys she wouldn't trade for the world, and realized that she would miss the laughs, the training sessions, and Naruto and his uncanny ability to get her to laugh at the oddest things.

In the back of her mind she swore she could hear Jason's voice call out her name, but it fell quickly as she gazed at her approaching doom. Lastly, she remembered the voice of her mother singing her a lullaby back when she was younger on the days she couldn't sleep, and realized how she would never actually get to meet her in person.

A lone tear dropped from her eye before she closed them for what she believed to be for the last time.

" **NO!** "

The world exploded into white.

.

.

.

.

.

" _Open your eyes my dear daughter. It is not your time yet."_

Dark brown eyes snapped open in shock.

 _Mom?_

* * *

Jason's eyes blurred as tears rose in them, as the attack landed with an explosion of shards of ice and snow. His heart felt like it had been crushed, as it tried to hold onto the barest possibility that his friend could still be alive after that, but his logical side knew better. He doubted a God would've taken such an attack.

"HAHAHAHA!"

The laugh brought his attention back, and with it anger. Pure fury bubbled through his veins, and he let it empower him. He slowly stood up, shield forgotten, and gladius in hand. Electricity sparked along his arms, and across his body. He grabbed at his inner power, and dark clouds rolled in. The wind whipped up, but this one was not frigid. The clouds became a dark gray and rumbled with a deep base. His eyes became blue lightning, as he screamed in rage and despair at what was just taken from him. He raised his gladius to the sky and prayed to his father aloud.

"If you can hear me, lend me the strength to strike this Titan down where it stands!"

Thunder boomed overhead, but nothing happened. He growled in anger, out of all times to not be listening.

"Oh, it would seem as if your father is not listening to you now child. Perhaps he can't hear you. By now Kronos would've been done cutting your Olympians into pieces. He's probably sitting in the throne as we speak," Koios taunted.

Jason seethed in anger, but he could do nothing as he garnered no response from the sky or his father.

"Your Gods have been defeated, half-breed," He raised his sword," and now it is your turn."

Hot, angry tears ran down his face, as he realized the situation he was in. He fell to his knees in despair, and began to sob. There was no way for him to defeat this Titan, he had nothing.

" _Do not fret, young demi-god. Us Gods were just wrapping things up."_

 **CLANG**

The sound of two sword colliding met Jason's ears, and when he looked up, he gaped in disbelief. She wore dark black armor with red and gold highlights. She wore no helmet so he could see that her hair was inky black and cut short. She had her back to him, but he could tell she was around the same height as Koios. In her hand she held a broadsword as big as he was tall, and a round shield. She was locked in a stalemate of strength with the Titan. His breath caught in his throat, he knew who she was.

This was the Goddess Bellona, Roman goddess of War, and Reyna's mom.

In a show of strength she pushed the Titan away from her, and began a sword fight with him. Jason was utterly speechless, as the two Godly beings showed skill he had never seen before. The strength behind the blows were nothing to scoff at either. The air was displaced whenever their swords collided, and the ground was uprooted and destroyed. It was amazing.

He was hit with a flash of realization. He couldn't just sit there all day. He had to finish what they all started. He turned around, grabbing his gladius, and ran towards the shadowy fortress that was Mount Othrys. With his back to her he missed the quick look Bellona sent him, before she charged at the Titan with a war cry.

Jason entered Mount Othrys, and if he wasn't about to wreck the place, he would admire the craftsmanship of it all, but he refocused on the pitch black throne that sat before him, and the figure that sat in it.

He had broad shoulders, and his black armor looked like he was wearing the night sky itself. His helmet was shaped like a ram's with horns extending out and around it. His skin was pitch black, and if it wasn't for his glowing, all white eyes, Jason would've assumed it was an empty suit of armor.

"So, I would assume that you were able to make it past my brother?" He stood from the seat, standing shorter than Koios, but still topping out at around seven feet. He unsheathed his sword, a massive sword, similar to Koios's, and pointed it at him," I am the Titan of the Stars and Constellation, and Lord of the South, but today I am your executioner young half-breeds."

Jason, despite the previous battle with a Titan did not fear the one before him. No, this time he felt a sense of confidence. He felt revitalized, and ready. His vision became sharper, and he gripped his gladius reassuringly. He felt like he could beat this guy. He charged the Titan, deflecting the opening swipe at him, and countered with a jab across the belly of the Titan. His attacked earned a cry of pain from the Titan, as his midsection began to drip with golden blood. Jason smiled dangerously at the wound he was able to deal the Titan, and twirled his sword.

Stars and constellation didn't sound so tough.


	8. Chapter 8: Stupid Purple Cloak

I'm not going to say anything, just know that school is taking up all of my free time and such.

* * *

 **DRIP…DRIP…DRIP…**

The first thing Naruto felt when he came to was water on his back. His eyes snapped open and he sat up, gasping for breath, the events replaying themselves in his mind. He immediately looked around, wondering where he was, and was greeting with a single, vertically slit eye. The darkness reared backwards out of the cage, revealing to him the Kyuubi in its wicked reddish-orange glory.

Before he could begin to talk, a snarl prevented him from doing so.

" **You are an idiot**."

Naruto sat up, out of the murky water that he still needed a way to figure out how to get rid of. He tried to stand, but immediately stopped and winced.

" **You should thankful that you are only sore and not dead.** "

He looked up and at the Kyuubi and saw it laying down, its ginormous head crossed over his paws/hands. He scratched his head," Thanks. I mean, I don't think I could've gotten there in time if it weren't for you. So, thank you."

Naruto looked at the Kyuubi with slight trepidation, as he was only receiving silence from the great beast after his thank you. He went to open his mouth to say something more, but it was forced shut as he felt a sense of vertigo. His vision blurred slightly, and he was suddenly in a warm bed with the smell of antiseptic filling his nostrils. He immediately knew where he was before his eyes cleared up. He tried to sit up, only to fall back in a pained groan. His entire body felt like mush.

He was currently shirtless, with bandages wrapped around his arms and upper chest. He idly wondered how the battle turned out, but considering he was in a hospital and not dead, it probably turned out well enough. He was broken out of his musings as the door was slowly opened, and a head poked itself into his room. His eyes connected with the head's, and relief washed over him.

He smiled," He-," was as far as he got until he descended into a coughing fit. His throat felt dry like sand paper, and needed a glass of water.

"Here," He heard from his side. He took the offered glass of water, and gulped it down in large mouthfuls. He set the cup down and sighed in relief. Now it didn't feel like he was choking on dust.

He looked at Reyna, her long hair was currently pulled back into a ponytail and she had a small amused smile on her face. She was wearing the usual casual wear of the camp, some shorts and the purple shirt, and looked better than he felt currently.

He had questions though," How long have I been out?"

"For about two weeks give or take," She answered.

Naruto's eyes bugged out and he rocketed up," What?! Two weeks?!"

Reyna raised an eyebrow," Yes, give or take a day or two. I haven't been able to keep track given how busy I've been recently," She admitted and rubbed at her forehead. Just thinking about it gave her a headache.

Naruto huffed and ran a hand through his hair," What do you mean busy? How much have I missed in my two week 'coma'?" He said with air quotes.

Reyna stared at him for a long moment before answering," A lot has happened in the past two weeks. What has been begun to be called the "Second Olympian War" was deemed officially over, giving us here at Camp Jupiter a chance to tally up our complete losses over the course of it in addition to the toppling of Mount Othrys. Which, by the way, has gotten you and Jason quite famous amongst the younger kids with how it's being told from what I hear."

Naruto smiled at that but it quickly went away as he remembered the pain he felt that hadn't entirely gone away yet.

" **My chakra and the Titan's godly energy are clashing causing your healing rate to slow. Given that I can constantly supply it, and the Titan's is only leftover residue, everything will be going back to normal once my chakra eclipses it,"** the Kyuubi told him.

Ah, that explained it.

He refocused his attention back to Reyna and asked her," What happened after I went down?"

Reyna's mouth inched into a frown at the question," I am not entirely sure myself. To get a firsthand account you'd have to ask Jason, but from what he told me that my mother appeared to stop Koios and help the remaining legion while he went inside of Mount Othrys where he found Krios, the Titan of the Stars and Constellations."

"What?!" Naruto yelled in shock, eyes wide," Wh-what happened?"

Reyna ran a hand across he brow," Now this is where I stop believing him. He said that he, and I quote," single-handedly gave Krios the most one sided ass whooping he would ever receive," She repeated and rolled her eyes while Naruto let a relieved sigh escape his mouth. He slouched back against the elevated hospital bed and just stared at the ceiling. The white room lapsed into a comfortable silence as the two children of the Gods let their minds wander. The silence was broken, though, as one of them spoke up.

"Thank you," Naruto heard but only just. If his ears weren't as sensitive as they were, he probably wouldn't have picked it up.

He turned his head and scrutinized Reyna. She was trying to avoid looking at him, which was out of character for her. She was toying with her ponytail, running her fingers through it, keeping her eyes adamantly on the 'interesting' tile flooring of the room. She was acting weird.

"You're acting weird," Naruto told her bluntly causing her to look at him. For a quick second he saw something in her eyes, something he wasn't sure he was meant to see from her. But just as quickly as it came it disappeared into the deep depths of brown like it had never been there to begin with.

Reyna stopped messing with her hair and wrapped herself in a hug. Naruto witnessed the change in her. To him, whenever he had seen her, she was always standing tall and confident despite her young age. Some people even went as far to call her inhuman with her infallibility. Whenever the three of them would walk together, she was automatically melded into the middle with him and Jason flanking her on each side. They were the ones that usually followed her lead despite him and Jason having adequate leading skills themselves. He didn't know what it was, he could attribute it to who her mom was, but Naruto felt that it was more than that. Something in her own character that made that happen, not part of who her godly parent was.

But now, she looked shaken.

…Tired?

…Scared?

Now that he noticed it, she had dark circles under her eyes, her hair looked thing and stringy, her shirt was slightly wrinkled and had light splotches on it like stains, she kept nervously biting her lip, and she was now curled up into the chair she was sitting in, knees to her chest and arms wrapped around herself.

Something was wrong with her.

Before he could speak up about his concerns Reyna began talking in a soft tone that Naruto didn't think would ever come from her.

"Naruto," she began," I-," Her voice hitched and she shut her eyes tightly. She shook turned her head down and breathed in shakily before continuing," When Koios sent that attack at me, I thought I was going to die. I know dying is a completely real possibility being a demi-god, but at that moment I realized that I didn't want to yet," She sniffled and rubbed her eyes with the bottom of her hand. She looked at him with reddened, wet eyes and Naruto was stunned silent. This wasn't what he expected from her. Reyna continued, her brown eyes locking with Naruto's blue ones," I thought about the things I would miss, the things I would never get to do, and I was-I was," She sniffled," I was scared," she whispered," I was scared to die and I realized I'd miss you and Jason the most next to my sister. But then when I woke up, I wasn't in the Underworld, I was in a hospital bed. I looked to my left and there you were, unconscious and wrapped up in bandages from head to toe. If it wasn't for the beeping of your heart monitor, I'd of thought you were dead," She laughed, a sort of sad, small one," I find out that you were in there for a sword wound that went from your neck down vertically, and they were monitoring you because they said you should've been _dead_."

Naruto looked at her teary-eyed form and felt anger at the Titan Koios. The next time he'd see him he'd punch him right in his smug face, but he needed to get stronger. Way stronger if his current condition was anything to go by. He had a feeling that this wouldn't be his last run in with something super strong. The only question was how…hmm. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Reyna sniffle once more and rub at her eyes. He felt his heart clench in his chest at seeing her like this. It was his own personal secret that he had a crush on her, and he was slowly gaining the courage to tell her how he felt. But after seeing her almost die, that…that made him put things in perspective.

Demi-gods were fated to not live lives that long given what they were, and that battle on Mount Othrys was his first real experience with seeing someone close to him, someone that held a place in his heart, almost die. He couldn't think of a future without Reyna or Jason by his side. Jason was his best friend, his brother in all but blood, and Reyna was the kick-ass girl he held strong feelings for. It made him realize that he might not get that chance to tell her if he waited too long.

His thoughts were cut off as Reyna continued," I just wanted to thank you for going that far to save me Naruto. Besides my sister, I don't think anybody would've risked their life for me like you did," She got up from her seat and did something that threw him for a loop.

She kissed his cheek.

Reyna pulled back from the peck, and looked at Naruto with a confused expression. He was staring into space with a dopey expression, with his mouth wide open. She waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention.

"Uh, Naruto? Are you okay?"

Naruto was too far gone to answer.

* * *

 **Two Months Later**

 **CRASH**

The sound of the bust of Julius Caesar reverberated through the space several teens were standing in. Several flinched back as the person who threw it paced angrily, his sandaled feet thudding with each step. The only one who didn't flinch was the only one sitting in an elaborate chair heading the room. She sat with unshakable poise, and watched the show of justifiable anger. She herself was angry, but she wasn't one to let it show like this. She knew he needed to let it out given the news he was just told after coming back from his quest to destroy the coven of Dracnae that popped up, and were quickly becoming too big.

 **SMASH**

And there goes a chair. Okay, it's time to stop this before he smashes a window.

She stood from her seat," Naruto, that's enough!"

He stopped and strode closer to her, eyes red and fangs exposed, but she wasn't scared like the rest of them were. She knew him better than anyone else did, and the only other person who knew him as well was the reason he was angry.

" **Do** n't tell me that's enough," He growled out," I should be out there finding whoever took him and ripping their tongue out through their **teeth**!"

She rolled her eyes. That was the anger talking, but she knew he'd probably do it. She would let him do it too. After she got her own licks in of course.

"You know as well as I do that breaking a few chairs and _another_ bust isn't going to help getting him back," She told him.

He snarled again, and his hair broke out of its ponytail and began swaying behind in nine parts. They gained a dark red sheen to them, and from where she stood, she saw the flecks of red begin to overcome those deep, breath-taking blue ey- _No,_ she reprimanded herself _._ She would not do this to herself. She couldn't do it. Not after seeing the way he looked at her on that awful day. The pure betrayal, the gut-wrenching hurt, and then the burning anger. That was the day the trio became a duo, and now it looked like even the duo couldn't last.

"That is **enough** , Naruto!" She saw him reflexively stand at attention, his hair died down, and the feeling he was releasing was cut short. She hated using her Commander Tone with people, she'd much rather have them listen to her based on her normal voice, not because she made them, but she needed to get him to think clearly. She knew this wouldn't help her case with him, but she knew once he calmed down he'd understand why," You need to calm down, **now**! You are not helping him or anybody doing what you're doing righ. We need people that can think clearly, and as you are right now, that's not something you can do."

The effect of her words was clear, as Naruto began to calm down and leash in his energy but his face stayed set in a furious scowl.

She capitalized on it and continued," We, I am just as angry and worried about Jason as much as you are. I want to find him and get him back here and punch him in the face for making us worry so much, but you know as well as I do that Jason can take care of himself."

Naruto growled and swiped at the air," It doesn't matter if he can take care of himself or not! Someone with enormous skill, snuck into our camp, under each of our noses, and took our Praetor! The son of Jupiter no less. Gods know what they're going to do with him! For Olympus's sake he could already be **dead,** " he ended gravely.

This caused each person in the room to straighten up. They each knew that it was a very likely possibility, but neglected to acknowledge it. But to hear it and see it thrown in their face made the situation that much more dire.

Reyna nodded her head," Yes, he _could_ be, which is why we need to put our heads together Naruto. We all need to collaborate to solve this problem," She reached out with her hand to put on his shoulder in a sympathetic gesture," You need to trust m-,"

She was cut off by Naruto growling lowly and moving out of her reach. She didn't let the hurt show from his action, and let her hand fall to her side neutrally.

Naruto looked down at her, he was hitting his growth spurt and was slowly becoming taller, and gritted out," Do. **Not**. Talk to me about _trusting_ when you couldn't even trust one of your _best friends_ ," He whispered at her before curtly turning around and walking out of the meeting chamber leaving silent faces and one regretful Praetor in his wake.

* * *

 **Eight Months Later**

"Eight months," Naruto murmured as he looked out at the horizon," It's been eight months since your disappearance Jason and seven since Jupiter closed Olympus," he snorted," Didn't even think that one was possible. I haven't been able to talk to dad about what's been going on, but I know it has something to do with your disappearance," He sighed and swiped some of his bangs out of his face," Something big is coming Jason. I can feel it and Kurama can feel it too. I just hope that wherever you are, you're ready for it," He finished and hopped off of the roof he was standing on.

He landed in a crouch and then straightened up to his full six-foot-one stature. These past eight months had done wonders for his growth. He was taller than most kids, his muscles grew leaner, his hair grew down almost to his lower back, and he kept it like that for a reason, and he had oddly begun to develop these strange markings on his cheeks that sort of resembled whiskers. He had asked Kurama about them, he had found out his name during the eight months as well, and he had shrugged his shoulders at them. So, Naruto had no clue as to why he grew them, but nevertheless he did. He changed his wardrobe up a bit, updating his armor, but ultimately keeping it the same. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Just make it better so it can function at peak efficiency. Not only did he grow physically, but he grew mentally as well. With Jason's disappearance, it was agreed upon that someone had to take his place, at least until he was found. That someone was him.

At first he vehemently refused, saying that Jason wasn't dead and that this was disrespecting him and the position he worked hard to earn. But as a month passed, he encountered her one day, still working in the Principia at 1 o'clock in the morning. To him she looked about half dead. Her hair was a mess, she had deep, dark black bags under her eyes, the papers on her desk were skewed all over the place, and she looked dead on her feet.

He knew that he was partially at fault for her current poor condition, and he felt his heart twinge a little in guilt. Seeing her like that made him question whether or not he was making the right decision, and not just letting his emotions play a big role in it. He knew that a while had passed since what had happened, and that he should have gotten over it by now and was just being childish with his anger and avid avoidance of her, but he wanted her to understand just the extent to which she, they had hurt him. The only reason him and Jason were okay as they were was because he, after realizing what had happened, chased him down, but he remembered just how angry and betrayed he felt. He yelled at him, screamed at him for a good half hour, maybe longer, called him some pretty nasty names now that he looked back, but Jason just took it all.

And after he had literally burned a 10-foot circle around them, Jason, after it was all over, apologized. Just a simple," I'm sorry for not telling you." Naruto then punched him in the face, but he took it with no complaint, even as his nose began to bleed, he stared at him with such sincere apologetic look in his eyes. Long story short, after demanding Jason to fight him, saying that if he was going to be able to date their best-friend he had to know how to give an ass-beating as well as take one. So, they fought, with just their fists mind you, until neither one of them could stand.

Naruto chuckled a bit, after that he had forgiven Jason, but not Reyna. She had yet to apologize to him for what happened, and still hasn't. He knew that it had to do with her stubbornness, much like him he would admit, and knew that she would apologize when she was ready.

That didn't mean he wasn't still pissed at her for keeping something like that from him for so long, hence the avoidance and anger. But now, with everything going on, he knew that he had to take his personal feelings out of the equation and think with his head. Which is why he was currently wearing the purple cloak over his armor depicting his status as a praetor. It was more symbolic than anything, as they didn't go into battle with it on, it was too flowy and made you a target.

His trip down memory lane was interrupted, as he heard some commotion going down by the tunnel entrance to the camp.

And that was never a good sign.

Quickly he crouched down, and hopped onto a roof and started jumping from roof to roof, a much quicker alternative to running. He hopped down and ran to the watchtower just as their horns blew a deep bass sound signifying an attack and the sentries trained their bows on whatever it was. Naruto wasted no time keying onto the figures crossing the river, two just making it ashore with one holding an...Old lady? Before he could even begin to move toward them a third teen rushed out of the tunnel, and began crossing the river at a hurried pace, like something was chasing him. Behind him he heard the camp gates open and dozens of legionnaires rush out and form up behind him, weapons and shields at the ready. He held up a hand, halting them from advancing towards the group.

He focused on their faces and was able to figure out two of the four. Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque, both members of the Fifth Cohort. The other two, a regular looking teen carrying an old, hippy-looking lady on his back, he had no clue about, but his senses were going off the fritz whenever he focused on them.

He unsealed his tonfa from the seal on his wrists, and held one up and commanded," Archers, hold! Legionnaires, advance!"

He lowered his arm, and began making his way toward the downed teens and old lady, when out of the tunnel burst a pair of gorgons. They screeched in the air they began a dive bomb, claws exposed.

"Oh, no," He whispered as he instantly calculated their trajectory. He threw of his Praetor cloak, Reyna was going to give him an earful about this, but this was a matter of life or death. He crouched low, ready to sprint, but his senses suddenly spiked like he had only ever felt once before and he stumbled.

His eyes widened, this much pressure was close to his and Jason's levels, and he hadn't encountered anybody with levels that came even close. But this one, was right up there with them, and dare he even consider it, even bigger.

 _Who is that_? He thought to himself, and he narrowed his eyes as the water of the river churned. His eyes caught the movement of the unknown teen. He was extending his hands out to the water, as the gorgons grabbed at Frank. _So it's coming from him._ The river convulsed and rose at the teen's apparent command, and from the liquid grew two giant viscous hands. To everyone's surprise, and to his amazement, the two hands gripped the two gorgons in a vice grip, forcing them to drop Frank back into the water with a splash.

The teen brought his hands down like a hammer fist, and the liquid mitts followed to the tee, slamming the overwhelmed gorgons back into the Tiber with a **WHOOSH**. The gorgons were demolished on impact, and instantly dispersed into the familiar golden dust clouds. The teen pulled his hands apart, like he was ripping something open, and the rivers currents pulled the glittering substance apart like drink mix, and the gorgon's essence was washed away. The teen let his hands drop to his sides and the river went back to its calm, peaceful movements.

He ordered the Legionnaires forward to help the discombobulated quartet from the shore. He heard the flapping of wings come from behind him, and didn't even flinch as a winged-horse or a Pegasus landed and clomped down next to him.

"What's the situation, Naruto? I heard the horn, and got here as quick as I could," Reyna told him, fully garbed in her armor and purple Praetor cloak.

Naruto shook his head and gave her a glance," I'll explain it to you after we get this mess cleaned up," He suggested and Reyna nodded her head.

Together the duo made their way towards, the teens of Camp Jupiter splitting down the middle, making way for them.

"…ell, that was a lovely trip," Naruto heard as he got closer and the group came into sight," Thank you, Percy Jackson, for bringing me to Camp Jupiter."

Reyna and Naruto exchanged a look, marking that name down in their memories as someone important. They both didn't know what it was, but it was if the very air itself shifted at the mention of the name, and the smell of sea water danced on the edges of their sense of smell.

Naruto took the initiative and cleared his throat to get their attention. Two pairs of eyes focused on him, a set of sea green ones and light brown ones, and before Naruto could address them, the old hippy lady was in face. He reflexively tried to flinch back away from her, but she put a hand on his shoulder and he couldn't move anymore.

"Back away from him!" Reyna commanded, unsheathing her spear and pointing it right at the side of the lady's head.

Percy tried to stand up and say something, but he was instantly subdued by a trio of teens pointing their swords at his throat.

It was a tense standoff, and all Naruto could do was stand their frozen while the lady searched his face for something, her eyes bouncing around, taking in his features for some reason. Oddly, she did not smell like an overflowing garbage can or a wet dog. His senses were pleasantly introduced to the smell of fresh miso ramen and he was tempted to take in a lungful of the godly scent.

To his surprise the lady's eyes began to water a bit, and she suddenly smiled.

Naruto's eyes widened," Who are you lady?"

He saw her smile, bright, white teeth instead of a dirty yellow one, through watery eyes," I finally get to so you…

…my grandson."

" **WHAT!** "

The darker toned girl with curly hair, Hazel, was the one to speak up, "Juno."

Her and the husky boy next to her, Frank, both knelt down, and soon everybody followed.

Everybody except for Reyna.

She still stood with her spear pointed right at the lady claiming to be Juno's head, face still set in an angry scowl.

"Unhand him," She inched her spear forward, almost pressing it into her neck, " **now.** "

Naruto felt his respect for Reyna go up about 50 notches at that moment, he would've done the same for her, but still. One did not go around claiming to be a God lightly. They either had the power to back it up or were actually a **God.**

The lady laughed aloud," Oh, and who are you to think you can threaten me, young half-blood?"

"Reyna Ramirez- Arellano, daughter of the Roman Goddess of War, Bellona, one half of the Praetors that command the Twelfth Legion. And he," She indicated toward him," is my other half. So, as Praetor, I give you three options: either you unhand him and step away and we can peacefully resolve this, you don't unhand him and I **make** you, or you show that you are who you claim you are because all I am seeing now is a lady who looks like she is a few decades late to the party."

There was absolute silence. No body breathed, moved, not even blinked. Then there was a chuckle. Then a laugh. Then a full on guffaw.

"Oooh, I like you girl," the lady admitted after she was done giggling," You are something special, you got fire in you," the lady gained a wistful look in her eyes," oh the memories. But, anyways if you want proof of my claim," A golden glow overtook the area," then here is my proof."

Where was once a hippy, homeless looking lady, now stood the Roman goddess of goddesses, Juno.(I'm not gonna describe her you can google her to get a picture in your head.)

She looked down at Reyna amusedly," Is this enough proof for you?"

A head nod.

"Good," she smiled and then turned towards the group," Romans, I present you the son of Neptune. He has been sleep for month, but now he is awake and he is here. His fate lies in your hands. The Feast of Fortune is quickly approaching, and Death must be unleashed if you are to stand any hope on the battlefield. Do not fail, or the consequences shall be dire!"

She began to shimmer, dissipating into golden butterflies from the waist down. She looked at Reyna," You should hold yourself fortunate, youngling that it was me and not one of the other gods or goddesses, for they may have not taken a spear being pointed at them so lightly. Be fortunate that my grandson holds you in such regard, which you do not deserve. That is what saved you this day," she finished as she dissipated fully into a cloud of fluttering golden butterflies.

They swirled around and came his way. From the cloud he heard," It was nice to meet you finally, grand-son. Your father has told me much about you. I do so hope that his boasting does not prove to be false in these coming months."

In a **WHOOSH** the butterflies swirled around before flashing golden and poofing into a shimmering cloud of golden sparkles.

Once more, the group of teens were silent, no-one quite knowing what to say.

It was a good long minute until Reyna finally spoke up, clearing her throat to grab everybody's attention," Hazel, bring him to the Principia so I can get some of these questions answered," she turned around after Hazel's nod, sheathed her spear, and began making her way back to her Pegasus, Scipio. She saddled up onto the Pegasus, but didn't take off just yet," Naruto?" He looked at her, not paying attention with all the questions floating around in his head," Where is your cloak at?"

He helplessly shrugged," Somewhere back by the gate?"

Reyna rolled her eyes and stared him down," You and I are going to have some words about how to properly treat you Praetor cloak, Naruto," She told him and then took off into the air.

All Naruto could do was groan, and hang his head in resignation. He had hoped she wouldn't of noticed.


	9. Chapter 9: His Name Is Percy Jackson

Yo, it's me. I'm here with this quickie before I dive into the real thick of it. Spring break is coming up for me, and it couldn't have come any slower. I know this isn't the longest one, but it's rather important in revealing Naruto's connections with the rest of the main cast of The Son of Neptune. Plus, there's some Percy Jackson finally.

Monkiepawn - Thank you honestly for the feedback. I am constantly trying to improve my writing, and you helped out a bunch. I hope this chapter is satisfying.

kakakure – Yeah, I made that happen because in the books I always felt that Reyna got shafted when it came to romance. Like everybody got somebody except for her, Thalia, and Nico, but those two for obvious reasons. And just wait for what's to come next.

Ejammer- I know, it was forever. But now I'm back. In comparison to Percy and Jason I would say that Naruto is right up there with them, and that there is no definite number one. And to address Reyna's love situation…well shit's about to get real.

*disclaimer on how I own nothing in this fanfic and it all belongs to their original creators*

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It was only a few minutes later before the principia was occupied by the two Praetors and the dark skinned girl, Hazel, and Percy wasn't sure what to expect. On the ceiling glittered a mosaic of Romulus and Remus under their adopted mother she-wolf (Lupa had told Percy that story a million times). The floor was a polished marble with the walls being draped in velvet.

Percy felt like he was inside the world's most expensive camping tent.

Along the back wall stood a display of banners and wooden poles studded with bronze medals—military symbols, he guessed. In the center of the room, the principia if he remembered correctly, a long wooden table was cluttered with scrolls, notebooks, tablet computers, a bust of somebody's head, daggers, and a large bowl filled with jelly beans and another one that oddly held cups of instant ramen in them, which seemed kind of out of place. The table was lined with chairs, which told Percy that this was some sort of headquarters or meeting room. Two life-sized statues of greyhounds—one silver, one gold—flanked the table. The girl, Reyna walked behind the table and sat in one of two high-backed chairs with the boy, Naruto sitting in the other one.

He was walking into uncharted lands right here, and he didn't know what was going to happen to him. They weren't saying anything to him, so he decided to use this time to examine these two.

He started with the one with the long red hair. Naruto, he believed his name was. He looked to be around his age, 17 if he remembered properly, and what stood out the most was his long blood red hair, that was like a wave of licorice whips or molten lava, which was unnatural to Percy. He had never seen anybody with fiery red hair that was so…well, red! From there was a rounded face, with red brows, showing that the red hair was natural or he died them both, purple eyes. He stood taller than Percy, but not by much, and had broad shoulders that fit his muscular frame. If he would compare his body style to anyone's he'd compare it to a son of Hephaestus's. He held himself up straight, which made him seem even taller than he was and Percy could feel this unnatural pressure around him that tickled his senses. His armor was different than what he saw on the teens, the color scheme, and the pieces that it was composed of were like nothing he felt familiar with.

His examination of the male done, Percy moved onto the girl and felt that something about her seemed familiar to him. A heart shaped face with delicate but sharp eyebrows that were set into a hard expression over dark brown eyes. Her hair was long, dark and glossy like cooled molten rock, like her eyes, and tied into a single braid that had hairs hanging out of place that was currently hanging over her shoulder. Her shoulders were also broad, but in the way that told Percy that she worked out and hard. She held herself tall like the boy, and Percy noticed that her eyes were always focused but still relaxed. She wore golden armor, Percy guessed that it was custom made, with a purple cloak.

"So…" He began, but was forced silent by growling.

The two, what he thought were statues, dogs were baring their gleaming teeth and growling. Their crimson eyes glared at him, and Percy wondered what was it that he had done to gain their ire. Usually animals liked him.

"Argentum, Aurum, heel!" Percy heard the girl order sharply. The greyhounds stopped growling, but their glare stayed firmly locked onto him like he was a potential treat or something.

"Silver and Gold," Percy murmured under his breath, but not low enough.

"That's right. They won't attack you," Reyna started," if that's what you're worried about," Percy almost blew out a sigh of relief," Unless you try and steal something or we deem you a threat to the camp, goddess recommendation or not, and I order them to."

Reyna set her dagger that she had on her hip onto the table within reach, showing that she held no hostile intentions, but the option was still on the table to say. Figuratively and literally. She was ready to speak up but the teen, Percy spoke up first.

"I've seen your face before," He declared," Something about your face is familiar to me. Please, if that means anything to you, I **need** to know. I'm lost here, and I can barely remember anything about myself or, or who _I am_ ," he stressed.

Reyna heard what he said, but was not listening. She had never seen him before in her life. How could she look familiar to him? The only other person who…

 _No_ , she thought to herself, her mind working furiously, _he couldn't have met her. She dropped off of the face of the map with those damn Amazons._

Reyna shook her head, they needed to know more about him before answering any of his questions. She glanced to her side at Naruto, he was being oddly quiet at her side. She was sure he would've made some input or some comment by now.

"Before I answer any of your questions, should I answer them," She said, "What do you remember? How did you get here? Why did the goddess Juno herself bring you here? And don't lie," She put her hand on Aurum's metal head," My dogs don't like liars."

The greyhounds snarled for emphasis.

So, Reyna heard his spiel. His entire story from how he woke up with no memory, his time spent with Lupa, his knowledge of this world, but Reyna could point out the repeating theme throughout the entire thing.

His lack of memory before any of that.

Before she could bring it up, Naruto beat her to it.

"You don't remember anything before that?" He asked, "Your birthday?" A head shake. "Your parents?" A head shake. "Friends?" Head shake. "Girlfriend?" A hesitant head shake, and Reyna narrowed her eyes. That touched something in his memory, but he hesitated. She raised a brow, he remembered more than he was letting on. She decided to let him hold onto that secret of his, as she didn't want to force the issue. Despite her threats, with him being here and the presence of Juno made for something big. Something was so special about him that it received the matriarch of the gods' attention, and that warranted a thorough investigation.

Reyna leaned forward, "Most of what you've described is normal for demigods that come to Camp Jupiter. At a certain age, they find their way to the Wolf House, and are trained and tested by Lupa. If she thinks us worthy, whether that be in a few weeks or a few years, she sends us south. Here, to join the legion. The only special case is Naruto here," she indicated, "who was able to impress her enough that she personally delivered his unconscious body here within the same day."

Naruto nodded along and asked Percy, "What was the deal with those gorgons? They aren't that tough of a monster to take down. Especially for two of the Fifth Cohorts own and a teen who was able to literally tear them apart with water."

Reyna listened as Percy explain his hectic last three days: how the gorgons wouldn't die, how he met the old lady who turned out to be a goddess, and finally sliding in and meeting Hazel and Frank at the tunnel entrance in the hill.

"If this was any other situation," Naruto began, "I would have trouble believing you, but in this instance I know you're telling the truth."

Reyna looked at him quizzically, and Naruto gave her look that told her that he would explain it all later.

"But regardless of it being true or not, Percy," Naruto continued, "You're old for a recruit, you know that? You look to be around our age. So, you're what, sixteen or seventeen?"

"I think so," Percy answered.

"That many years on your own? You should be dead?" Reyna piped in, "Regardless of being able to take down Medusa's sisters, you're a son of Neptune. You'd have such a potent, powerful aura that all kinds of monsters would be able to sniff you out."

Percy shrugged, "Yeah, I've been told I smell."

Naruto smiled humorously and Reyna tried not to smile at the joke on demigod auras. They both knew too well about what kinds of monsters they can attract.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair, "This just doesn't add up though. He had to have come from somewhere before the Wolf House."

They looked at Percy, who just shrugged, and realized that they weren't going to find an answer to that until or if he regains his memory.

"Well, my dogs haven't eaten you yet, so I suppose that you're telling the truth."

Naruto nodded along, "Yeah, I couldn't detect any irregularities in his heart beat that entire time either."

Reyna nodded in realization, that's what he was doing.

"Even if we accept you as not an enemy," she began, "this is still unusual. The Queen of Olympus does not simply mettle in the affairs of us mortals, and she definitely doesn't appear at camp announcing a new demigod. And a son of Neptune," she sighed, "that is not a good omen. Especially now."

"What's wrong with Neptune?" Percy asked. "What do you mean by, especially now? What's going on?"

"You came here with Medusa's sisters nipping at your heels, who by the way haven't been seen for thousands of years. You made our Lares nervous and or agitated, and they're now calling you graecus," Naruto piped in.

"And your shirt," Reyna said, "those beads on your necklace, those symbols. What do they mean?"

Percy looked down at his attire and accessory and shook his head, "I don't know," he said.

"And your sword?" Reyna questioned.

They watched as Percy pulled out a…pen, and uncapped it. Reyna and Naruto exchanged a look of unease at the appearance of the weapon, Hazel gasped, and the greyhounds barked at its appearance.

"What is that?" Hazel asked. "I've never seen anything like it."

"I have," Naruto declared and stood up. He walked toward the sword and Percy, but did not reach out for it. If that sword was anything like their own personal weapons, it would have a failsafe included. And Naruto didn't know how nasty this one was. "From what I can tell, it's old. And I mean your grandma's babysitter old, maybe older. The metal is called Celestial bronze. It's as deadly to monsters as Imperial gold is, but Celestial bronze is rarer."

Naruto stepped in front of Percy and stopped his examination of the sword, "Hold out your arm like this?" he asked, showing Percy his exposed forearm that had a tattoo on the inside: the letters SPQR, a hammer and an anvil, and underneath that, four parallel lines. "And before you ask, yes all full members of the legion have one."

Percy held out his arms, but there was no special mark of any kind.

"Yup, you've never been a member of legion so that's out," Naruto said. "These marks aren't removable unless you want to cut off your arm or something, but even then I don't think it would work," he joked.

Percy grimaced.

Hazel's eyes widened and she spoke up, "If he's survived being a loner this whole time, maybe he's seen Jason." She turned to Percy. "Have you ever met another demigod like us before? He's a guy in a purple shirt, with marks on his arm like us, and…"

"Hazel." Reyna's sounded. "That's enough."

Percy sheathed his sword back into his pen, "I haven't seen anyone like you guys before. And Jason, who is he?"

Reyna sighed, a low one that Percy could tell was fringed with a bit of sadness. She said, "He is my b…was my colleague." She pointed to Naruto who had walked back to his chair and sat down. "The legion normally has two praetors. Jason Grace, a son of Jupiter, was my other half so to speak before he disappeared last October. Now Naruto stepped up to take his place."

"He's been gone for eight months? I mean by now, uh…" he tapered off due to the glare he was receiving courtesy of Naruto.

"He isn't dead, if that's what you mean," Naruto said. "I knew Jason, and I know he isn't dead. Jason was, is as tough as they come and then some. I know he isn't dead. Just missing."

"Wait June 24," Hazel began, "Isn't the Feast of Fortuna coming up?"

Naruto and Reyna grimaced simultaneously, "Octavian," they voiced.

"The Feast of Fortune… The gorgons mentioned something like that, and so did JUNO. They said that the camp was going to be attacked on the day of the feast. Something about some big bad goddess named Gaea, and an army, and something about Death being unleashed. What's today?"

"Today is the nineteenth," Naruto said lowly, "That only gives us five days."

Reyna stood, "You both will not speak a word of this to anyone except for Naruto and myself. I do not want panic and paranoia festering and spreading through the camp." She ordered.

"We're done here," Naruto declared and stood as well, "Hazel, take him to Temple Hill. Find that prick Octavian. If Percy here has any questions then answer them how you deem fit to. Tell him about us, the legion."

Hazel nodded, and turned around to begin walking.

"Good luck with that prick Octavian Percy," Naruto said. "If you come down with the urge to punch his lights out don't worry that's a normal reaction," He joked.

Percy smiled a bit and began walking out with Hazel, leaving the two Praetors alone to discuss what just happened.

Once Naruto was sure the door was closed Naruto spoke up, "Well depending on what Octavian has to say, and I'm pretty sure we both know what he's going to say, today's muster is going to be different."

Reyna nodded and rubbed her brow, "This Percy Jackson is a character I was not expecting to be dropped into our laps right now. I was watching him during that entire exchange, and everything about him screamed training, Naruto. I wouldn't be surprised if had gotten some training prior to the Wolf House."

Naruto nodded, "Exactly what I was thinking. The way he controlled that water to tear those gorgons to paste like a blender set on high would take years of training. To do that would take an enormous amount of power and control that I'm sure barely half of the teens our age have."

"Except for us," she added.

He nodded, "Except for us. Do you think that…,"

"That he had something to do with Jason's disappearance?" she asked. Naruto nodded and she shrugged, "I don't know, but they have to be connected somehow."

"You don't think they sent him here as a replacement do you?" He asked.

"No," she said.

"You don't think-,"

"No, I don't think anything, Naruto. There is no body that can replace Jason or even begin to," she declared fiercely.

Naruto held his hands up in surrender, "I was just throwing an idea out there trying to figure out the point of that is going down right now. Something big is about to happen Reyna, and after the feast…I don't think things are going to ever be the same again."

Reyna sighed and nodded, "I know. Sorry for snapping at you like that…it's just that I'm not ready to accept him as being gone yet, Naruto."

Naruto walked up to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Me neither, but we have to set the example while he's not here. We not have his over powered bull-shit lightning," he joked and Reyna smiled a bit, "but I like to think of myself as pretty capable when it comes to turning some ugly monsters into dust."

"Yeah, you're right," she agreed.

Naruto rubbed patted her on the shoulder before letting go and stretched, "Now, c'mon. We have a muster to get to, and then a tonight are the War Games," he said rubbing his hands together excitedly.

Reyna smirked a little and shook her head, "Don't ever change Naruto," she said while walking towards the door.

He fell in step beside her, "If I ever start changing I give you complete permission to smack me, and get my head back on straight."

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At The Muster

Naruto stood tall and looked out over the assembled cohorts as Reyna trotted back and forth on Skippy with her dogs following. They both were wearing their respective armors and purple cloaks, Reyna gave Naruto a new one and made him promise to never lose this one or she would shave his head bald in his sleep. Needless to say he promised readily and swore that he wouldn't lose this one.

The cohorts were lined up perfectly, with their equipment shining under the sun. These were the members of the legion, and Naruto was proud to be praetor over them despite his earlier feelings.

His eyes caught movement and saw a hurrying Hazel dashing to her spot in the fifth cohort. Reyna said something to her, but his focus was elsewhere.

 _Nico Di Angelo. The son of Pluto himself,_ Naruto thought to himself.

 **"** **Despite my ability to not be able to die, that kid still creeps me out. I've had run ins with his father before, and I can tell when one had the touch of the underworld on them. This kid is practically bathed in it,"** Kurama intoned in his deep voice.

 _I can feel it too. I don't know what it is, but there's something about him that just feels off, and I don't think it has anything to do with who his dad is._

 **"** **Yeah, well when you figure that out wake me. Until then stay out of trouble, and do not call on me unless absolutely necessary. We both know that you can only handle three-tails worth of my chakra before your body and mind start to succumb."**

 _Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go back to sleep fuzz ball. I'll wake you when the situation calls for it. I have a feeling that that's going to be sooner rather than later anyways._

Kurama just grunted before Naruto felt the connection disappear, and he was left to his own thoughts.

"Colors!" he heard Octavian shout.

Naruto re-focused onto the muster as the emblems were presented. As usual the legion's eagle was not there, and Naruto could feel the embarrassment and he even felt some himself. He didn't see the point of present it if there was no eagle, but Reyna insisted on following tradition.

Speaking of her, she directed Skippy to the forefront, grabbing everybody's attention, "Romans! You've all heard of what happened earlier today so I'll save everybody some time by not repeating what you all should probably know by now. Today we have newcomer Percy Jackson. The goddess herself, Juno, has lead him to us, and proclaimed him a son of Neptune."

Percy raised a hand in the air nervously, "Hey."

Naruto felt the urge to face palm at the introduction.

"What do the auguries say to him joining the legion?" Reyna asked.

Naruto zoned out whatever Octavian had to say, but Naruto go the distinction that he was accepted due to how Percy didn't look all that nervous and the shout of the cohorts' 'Ave'.

Naruto saw Reyna motion and the senior officers stepped forward from each cohort. Octavian, being the most senior of the centurions, addressed Percy.

"Recruit, do you have credentials? Letters of reference?"

Ah, those. Naruto firmly stuck with his belief that having a letter of reference or credentials were bullshit. He believed that you had to work for what you wanted, and was sick of these kids that were given a 'letter of reference' and an easier path when they looked like they couldn't hold a sword properly or thought they were tough shit. Naruto fixed the latter problem real quickly whenever he saw it someone by, of course, showing them the error of their ways.

In other words he would kick their ass, and show them that they weren't shit. That they were now swimming with the sharks.

Percy shifted around nervously, "Letters? Um, no I don't have any."

Naruto saw the faux regretful look on Octavian's face, and just knew he could care less.

"No letters? Will any legionnaires stand for him?"

"I will!" Naruto heard come from Frank. "He saved my life!"

Naruto smiled silently. Frank had always had a big heart, but was too unsure of his own abilities. He had tried getting him to come out of his shell, and had only partially succeeded. This was a result of that.

Reyna looked at Frank with her usual look that made lesser recruits cry, Naruto remembered the one time that happened with a newer girl recruit, and Naruto was proud that Frank only stepped back once.

"Frank Zhang," Reyna began, "I remind you that you are on probation. Your godly parent has not even claimed you yet. You're not eligible to stand for another one until you earn your first stripe. Your support is noted, but it does not mean anything."

Naruto winced at the way Frank was tore to proverbial pieces, but knew that what Reyna was saying to be true. He saw Franks face redden in embarrassment, and he looked like he wanted to curl up and himself in a hole.

But to his not so surprise his best friend, and Naruto believed to be future love interest (there was a betting pool on this stuff), came to his rescue.

"I will stand for Percy. I am a full member of the legion, and Percy saved both of our lives," Hazel declared.

Naruto smiled at the courage the two showed, but knew that her standing up for him wasn't much of a good thing. Her being a daughter of Pluto was almost as bad as Percy being a son of Neptune.

Reyna raised a brow, and looked at Naruto.

"Why not?" He shrugged. They weren't getting any better than this.

"Very well. Hazel Levesque, you may stand for him. Does the Fifth Cohort accept him as well?" She asked.

There was complete silence. Before a fake cough sounded from somewhere trying to cover up the 'loser' that was said. Scattered pockets of laughter that people tried to cover up rang through Naruto's ears and he clenched his fist.

Ever since he left the cohort to be praetor, it had gone downhill to say the least. Naruto didn't like to think about it.

Slowly a very unenthusiastic pounding of shields sounded from the cohort, led by an excited looking Frank, and the new centurion stepped forward, Dakota.

"My cohort has spoken," he said, "We accept him."

Reyna looked at Percy, "Congratulations, Percy Jackson. You are on probation until it has been one year's time, or as soon as you complete an act of valor. You will be given a tablet with your name and cohort. Don't lose that by the way. Gods know how many of you recruits do," she mumbled under breath and Naruto couldn't help but snicker. "Serve Rome, obey the laws of the legion, and defend this camp with honor. Senatus Populusque Romanus!"

Naruto and the rest of the legion echoed her.

Reyna turned Skippy away, and he spread his large wings, giving them a shake.

Naruto stepped up to Percy while Reyna gave her commands to the rest of the legion.

He gave a flat stare to Nico who reciprocated the look," Di Angelo."

"Uzumaki," Nico addressed him in a similar fashion.

They gave each other mutual nods of respect, before Naruto turned his attention to Percy. He held out his hand to Percy, but was greeted with a confused look. Naruto laughed a little, "You're supposed to shake it. C'mon man, I know you know how to shake a hand."

Percy took one last look at it before reaching out and shaking it.

"Nice," Naruto said after they let go, "Now, I'm going to let you in on a little secret about the cohort you're going to. Opposite to popular opinion, they aren't a bunch of losers. They just…have had a rather bad streak of luck lately. I mean, I came from there, and look at me. I'm a praetor, and so was the guy before me."

Percy nodded his head nervously, "Yeah, the missing one…Jason."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah. They are a good group, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Matter of fact, it's a good thing that you were accepted into the fifth, because now maybe you'll be the one to bring them back up to snuff."

Naruto patted Percy on the shoulder once before turning around just as the crowd dispersed, "See you tonight Percy."

Percy gave a confused look to Nico, asking the unasked question.

Nico shrugged, "I don't know Percy. Uzumaki has always been an odd one. From his hair down to his personality. But he's one of the only guys that I respect."

Percy raised an eyebrow, "Is that high praise coming from you?"

"Let's just say that there are only two people I respect that are still alive, and leave it at that," Nico said, "C'mon, let's find Hazel so we can go eat before the war games tonight. Tonight is capture the fort, and you need all the energy you can get."

Percy nodded his head, but couldn't shake the feeling of unease that plagued him.

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Hades was sitting in his high-backed throne made of skulls and stygian iron. To the average person, it may just look like an uncomfortable throne, but due to a whole bunch of spells, it was probably the most comfortable chair in existence. He'd never let people know that, because it would ruin his reputation as the lord of the underworld.

His train of thought was cut off as a flash appeared in front of him. The light died down to reveal…Hera?

"What brings you down to Hell, Mrs. Queen of Olympus?" He asked. "Is my brother being a right prick again? Or is it one of those annoying gods that think that they deserve a seat on the council bar Athena and Hephaestus?"

"I am here on business Hades," She told him.

This caused Hades to lean forward, "Oh, and what sort of business would you have with the Lord of the Underworld?"

"I'd like strike a deal with you, Hades. An exchange," Hera said.

"What could you have that I want Hera?" Hades asked, clasping his hands together in his lap, interest piqued.

"I'd like for you to give me control of one the souls in the Underworld in exchange," she waved her hand and a purple orb appeared and floated forward in front of Hades, "the soul of the one who has eluded your grasp for so long."

Hades stared at the ghastly purple orb like a man possessed, "Is this…"

"Yes it is. I have a connection, and he was able to get me it. Fresh from cooling corpse of the bastard. And it is all yours," the orb floated back to Hera, "in exchange for the one I want."

Hades clenched his fists together and gained a look of contemplation. It was a few moments before he made his decision.

"Mmm, fine. In exchange for that soul, I'll give you one in exchange to do with as you wish," He said, "So, who do you want to bring back from the dead?"

"Kushina Uzumaki."


	10. Chapter 10: Gasp! It's A Quest!

AN: Sorry! I know this is like more than late. Later than late, but my computer broke, and had to get a new one. Long overdue, but don't hate me for it. What I want for people to understand, especially for this chapter, is that the gods have varying degrees of difference in their different aspects. Like, Zeus and Jupiter are gonna be close to the same exact guy, but, due to him being Roman, he is more strict. Another example is Athena and Minerva The same goddess, but they are completely different from each other. You see what I'm getting at?

redlox2-I'll say that it's Orochimaru, cuz that guy just didn't know how to die, but I won't tell you how she got it.

LazyKid24- Your opinion is noted, and read to find out. I already made up my mind on the pairings, so you'll see eventually.

KnowPein- You get to see in this chapter actually.

EternalKnight219- Yes, he was Minato in this story.

ultima-owner- Me too, cuz if she there will be hell to pay.

exillion-Technically, since it is surrounded by water, I can call it an island all I want. You can technically call Australia an island because it is surrounded by water and not be wrong. So, boom.

Jose19- You get a little bit of what Naruto felt in comparison to Percy in the last chapter, but Naruto, no matter what version, is powerful in his own right. At this moment, he is not to be taken lightly. Yes, he has his chakra, but his use is limited as it's not really a focus of his at the moment since he hasn't really needed it. Hephaestus's power does not lie in his ability to destroy continents or create big displays of power, it's in his craft. Vulcan, on the other hand, is the god of volcanoes, which are pretty destructive.

Sniperbeattie- Thanks yo! I'm far from done with this fic.

* * *

Night had fallen around the camp, and everyone knew what that meant.

It was time for the fun to begin.

Naruto himself was glumly crouched down atop one of the few high reaching towers that were erected around what was going to be the setting for the War Games this time around. It was built similarly like he remembered it, but with a few nasty changes that he was sure to surprise some of the attacking cohorts this time around. He was sure of this because, he made some of them himself. This fort, though, was the newly revamped version, because apparently his ripping that old gate off of its hinges damaged the old with numerous hairline fractures that jeopardized the fort's stability. And because it was around that time, where the old one is tore down and a new one is built to take its place.

Naruto himself was annoyed. Being Praetor meant that you were stuck acting as a referee to the War Games, which to him was the stupidest thing ever. This was supposed to simulate actual war, and there were no referees there to stop everybody and ask if a kid was okay to continue playing or to call a foul. That was just ridiculous. But apparently those are some of the stipulations that come with being Praetor.

He heard the flapping of wings overhead, and Naruto knew that Reyna shared his feelings, but was just better at hiding them. He had not had a good fight to get his blood pumping in forever since he became praetor. Either the people were too chicken or just didn't stack up. The enjoyment he found sparring with Reyna died quickly as he was restricted to using just his basic skills due to how destructive in nature his other ones were.

Naruto sighed, at least he would be able to get a better scope of Percy's skills with this, and see just what he brought to the table. In no time the battle began in earnest, and immediately Naruto's anger spiked. Hard.

He watched the two cohorts that were supposed to be backing up the fifth, sit back and laugh as the fifth got pounded with all of the defenses that were set in place. High pressure water cannons, rocks, arrows, flaming arrows, scorpion bolts, the whole nine yards! The fifth trudged along under the relentless fire in turtle formation, and Naruto felt pride at their showing of grit, but his analytical mind quickly counted the number of teens in the formation, and realized that the number was three off from what it was meant to be.

He immediately knew which two weren't there, Hazel and Frank, they have always never fit the mold of the average legionnaire, but he wondered why Percy decided to join them.

 _Well, they are his only friends, so that would explain it,_ Naruto thought to himself.

He scanned the field and spotted the trio rising from a hole on the east side of the fort. Naruto guessed that they had travelled using the underground tunnels. What he couldn't figure out was how they found one that they could travel through. Some of them are completely unpassable, and he was sure that they didn't just randomly come up on one coincidentally before the War Games tonight. They had to of known about it before.

Naruto continued watching them, which was better than watching the disgraceful actions of the other cohorts. If he continued watching that shit show he wouldn't be able to keep himself from getting involved.

"But they are going to feel the burn later for this," Naruto promised aloud to himself.

Back to the diverse trio, he saw Frank pull from the quiver of arrows on his back, which Naruto found absolutely fascinating for a boy his size to use but he wasn't one to judge, a single arrow with a golden rope hanging from it. Naruto immediately got down to thinking, and guessed that it probably had some special function or something like he'd seen before in other arrows.

Naruto's senses stirred, and he felt a spike. He zeroed in on Percy, and saw that he had his hand raised toward the fort. His eyes swung to the fort walls, his eyes catching the movement of a water cannon being swung towards the trio. Naruto felt the energy spike once more, and then it was all chaos.

The water cannon that was aimed at the trio suddenly burst apart in streaks of bronze, blue, and white. The teens that were once manning it were blasted backwards, and a shock wave of water surged outwards knocking over the defending teens. Some toppled over the walls, but were quickly swept up by giant eagles. Naruto still questioned where they came from, but Jason promised that it was a gift from Jupiter so Naruto said no more about it because they were a huge help. Like dominos, the water cannons lining the walls burst apart in a similar fashion, dousing fires and knocking kids around like bowling pins. Naruto himself was impressed with the tactic and display of destruction and skill, and decided that this Percy Jackson may be worth more attention.

Naruto saw the arrow Frank had pulled back, release, racing towards the still discombobulated defenders. The arrow tip expanded into dozen lines that raced towards the fort and grabbed at anything and everything it could. It wrapped up parts of the wall, some of the armaments, broken or otherwise, and a few teens. The teens, and everything else, found themselves quickly slammed backwards, and tacked there like a poster. The functions of the rope did not end there, as the glittering rope shot out to make a ladder.

Naruto leaned back, impressed at the trio and their teamwork. He watched the trio climb ladder, with Frank in the lead. Naruto saw him stop climbing, and yell back something to the stunned attackers. His yell seemed to do the trick, as a resounding yell rang up from the Fifth Cohort. Even Hannibal trumpeted loudly in response. From there, Naruto noticed, everything turned downhill for the defending cohorts. Hannibal finally broke through the gates with a vigorously motivated Fifth Cohort charging in behind his wide form. Naruto heard a battle cry come from away from the fort, and he looked to see the Fourth and Third Cohorts charging to join the fight.

He scoffed at the show of 'zeal' from the two cohorts. _Better late than never,_ he thought. With the surge of energy from the Fifth Cohort, Hannibal knocking aside teens like bowling pins, and the fresh Third and Forth Cohorts coming in, the game was quickly wrapped up. Naruto stood as, not too surprisingly, Percy and Frank were the ones waving the banners around in victory from Hannibal's back.

He jumped down from his vantage point as the teens wearily regrouped in the field. Some holding their head high on victory, and others wallowing in their disappointment in defeat. He hit the ground, and that was when he smelled it.

Blood.

He sniffed in a deep breath, smelling the acrid copper scent, and he his head snapped toward the fortress just as a couple of teens came rushing out, carrying a body on the stretcher. Wait…that was Gwen!

"Move! Get out of the way!" Someone yelled, but Naruto didn't care to figure out who. The medics hurriedly set the stretcher down, and Naruto rushed over to them. He slid in on his knees, and he saw the terrible shape she was in. She was on her side, her pale face turning his way, with a pilum sticking out of her chest near where her armpit was. His nose was immediately assaulted with the acrid stench of blood, and he saw it running down from the stretcher and onto the ground pooling around his knees.

"No, no, no…," He muttered, as he tried to figure out what to do. She had to be okay, but the empty look in her eyes told him otherwise.

He reached out and put the back of his hand next to her mouth, feeling for a breath, any sign that she was still breathing.

But there was no air.

He quickly reached for her neck and her wrist with two fingers, searching desperately for a pulse of any kind.

But there was no pulse.

A pair of hands on his shoulders broke him out of his searching for any sign of life.

"Sir, we need everybody away from the body so we can work," He heard.

Naruto looked at the young medic over his shoulder, and shook his head slowly in response.

"No…it's no use. She has no heartbeat," He said lowly.

Gwen was dead.

He reached for the pilum that was imbedded in the body of one of his friends. With a grunt and a sickening wet squelch the javelin was pulled out. He set the pilum down next to her body. He couldn't believe it was a Roman weapon that had taken her life. Someone would answer for this.

He stood up and turned around. He quickly had to move out of the way, as Frank came rushing in the next moment. He spared a sad glance at Frank. He would find nothing just like he did. Naruto looked to Reyna, who stared back resignedly. He shook his head, and Reyna nodded once in acceptance.

Reyna turned and examined the campers from her Pegasus with a dark and icy look.

"We will launch an investigation into this. Whoever did this, there will be _severe_ punishment. You have not only cost the legion a good, honorable officer, but you cost us all a comrade, a friend…and a family member."

Naruto tore his eyes away from the body, and turned around to see how Frank was doing. He was sure to be reeling from this even more than he was given his and Gwen's friendship.

At that moment Gwen decided to come back to life.

Naruto heard a deep gasp come from Gwen, and saw her eyes snap open. Her back curved upward as her mouth hung open and her eyes wide. It was during this that the color to her skin returned. Then, her back straightened out and she dropped against the ground. Her eyes refocused and Naruto saw them go from Frank, to him, and to the crowd.

"Uh…what's going on Frank?" Naruto heard her whisper. "Why is everybody staring at me?"

Naruto slowly walked forward with disbelief draped over his face, not knowing that Frank himself was stuck on repeat with his mouth gaping open, trying to answer her question.

Naruto got closer, eyes wide, and asked slowly, "Gwen…do you know what happened…to you?"

He needed to be gentle with her. He, like everybody else, did not know what had just happened, and he needed to not put anymore undue stress onto her. An idea popped into his head, and he grabbed Frank's shoulder.

He bent down and whispered into Frank's ear, "Go and find Di An-I mean Nico. Find him as fast as possible, and bring him here. We need an expert on this, and he's the closest we got."

Naruto gave Frank a hard look, showing him the seriousness of the situation and smothering any kind of argument from him. He patted him on the shoulder, and Frank quickly scrambled up and turned around to do as he was told but stopped. Gwen was trying to pull herself up.

She tried to sit herself up, but failed and dropped back onto the ground after trying. "Someone tell me what's going on please. Last thing I remember was seeing a river and a…man asking for some sort of…a coin," her brow creased like she was trying hard to remember what happened to her. "It was all dark and shadowy, and I turned around and saw an open door. So, I left. What's going on?"

Naruto felt his breath catch in his throat. What she just described was what the process to the underworld was described as. He immediately connected the dots, and knew that Gwen had no reason to lie. This was…unreal!

To Naruto's relief, Reyna came jogging over with Nico in tow. And Percy and Hazel.

"Naruto what is," she stopped when her eyes landed on Gwen's breathing and totally _alive_ body. "Wh-what," she stuttered but quickly regained herself and gave Naruto a hard stare, like it was his fault that this was happening.

He shrugged helplessly, and stepped close to whisper, "I am as lost as everybody else here. According to Gwen, she hasn't figured it out yet, but she just came back from being _dead._ "

Reyna's response was cut short as Gwen once again tried once more to rise, and was able to this time with the aid of Percy and Frank. Nico walked over to her and touched a hand to her forehead, and held it there for a moment with his eyes closed in concentration. Naruto felt a small flow of energy run from Nico's hand into Gwen, and Naruto felt Gwen's own rise in defense at the foreign energy.

Nico took his hand off of her forehead and stepped back, allowing his energy to dissipate back into him. "Well, she's not dead. She isn't some sort of ghost or physical spirit, because if she was I'd be able to exert my will over her due to my Pluto's blessing," He explained while turning around to address Reyna and Naruto. He looked at them with a serious look that held a sense of focus in comparison to his usual, and no pun intended, dead look. "She's as alive as me or you right now. The only thing that I could find was a light taint on her soul that everybody gets when they enter the underworld," at their confused expression he elaborated, " It's how Pluto keeps track of everybody and everything that enters his domain. The only ones exempt from this are the Gods, but that's self-explanatory, but Pluto _never_ lets people return from the dead," Nico tapered off towards the end, and he turned to look at the ground. He slowly shook his head from side to side, "No, no, but that's impossible. Dad says that he hasn't been seen in months, but it was normal for him to not be seen for extended periods of time," He murmured, but it was loud enough for everyone in the immediate vicinity to hear.

"What's impossible?" Reyna asked.

Nico slowly raised his head to look at them, and Naruto noticed that his eyes looked darker than usual. "I don't think Pluto is to blame for Gwen coming back."

For a moment there was silence, and Naruto wondered what he could have meant by that. He looked at Reyna, who was staring at Nico in silence as she mulled over what he just said. Naruto wondered if this night could get any worse.

He should've known not to tempt the fates.

An absolutely thunderous voice crashed into everyone's eardrums and rolled over the field, "DEATH LOSES ITS GRIP. THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING."

Everybody tensed and some even drew their weapons. Hannibal the elephant trumpeted nervously, and Reyna's Pegasus reared back and neighed similarly.

In the midst of the legion, an orange-red column of fire rocketed into the air like the back end of a rocket. The heat seared everyone's skin and the flare cause everybody to turn or look away. Naruto felt the heat, but was undeterred by it, he had felt far hotter and seen far brighter. The column finally stopped flaring and what was revealed caused the teens to scramble backwards.

It was a man.

 _Well, 'man' was putting it lightly,"_ Naruto internally noted.

Standing inside the ring of burnt ground and what was left of the small amount of grass that was there, stood an absolute behemoth. He stood tall, topping off at gods know how tall, maybe nine or ten feet tall, and was dressed in a military uniform colored in desert camouflage. He seemed like the physical manifestation of power itself. His hair was cut into a flat-top wedge like Frank's, which Naruto wondered was a coincidence or not. The man's face was square, but still semi-angular with a strong jaw like he could chew through solid steel…or bone. His face was crisscrossed with old brutal scars that made it look like he was mauled by a grizzly bear, and looking at this man, Naruto hesitated to think about how that grizzly bear looked. On his forehead lay a pair of infrared goggles that stuck out with is glowing color. Around his waist he had strapped a giant pistol, which was only one upped by the knife that was strapped around his waist as well, and several grenades. And to top his menacing, but professional image off, the man held in his hands the most oversized gun Naruto had ever seen.

If Naruto had enough sense to realize that this man was not to be trifled, he wouldn't make a joke about over compensating for something. But there was something that rubbed him the wrong way about this man…

And what was life if you didn't piss off a few gods here and there.

Before he could crack his joke, from beside him Frank stumbled forward, and fell to one knee. The other campers and Reyna followed suit and knelt. Naruto knelt, but only did so out of respect towards him for his aid in past battles. Say what you will about children of Mars, but they were damn fine soldiers to fight with and terrifying to fight against when they got going.

"Well it seems," the soldier began in a deep, rough voice, "that at least some of you know your superior officer when you see him. It's been a long time since I visited Camp Jupiter."

Naruto felt someone step up beside him, and he looked to see that it was Percy, sword in hand, glaring at the giant military man.

"You, you're Ares," Percy stumbled out in realization. "What do you want?"

There was a chorus of gasps from the hundreds of campers, an elephant, and a flying horse. Naruto was surprised by the tone of aggresion that Percy took, and mentally jotted it down. He also scratched a notch under Percy's reputation mentally. Anyone with balls big enough to question a God either had a death wish or knew what they were doing.

Naruto wasn't sure yet which one Percy was.

The god regarded Percy with a look of semi-interest, "You've got spunk kid," he said. "Whether you're blind or stupid remains to be seen, but Ares is my Greek form. But to these people, to these followers, to these children of Rome, I am Mars-patron of the empire, divine father of Romulus and Remus."

"We've met," Percy said and his brows creased as If trying to remember, "We…we fought…"

Mars scratched his chin, thinking. "Being who I am, I fight a lot of people, kid. But I assure you, you've never fought me as I am. If you had, you wouldn't be here right now. Now, kneel demigod, as befits a child of Rome, before you try my patience," he demanded as around his feet flames began to sputter anew.

"Percy, please. C'mon man," Frank pleaded and gave Percy a look.

Naruto could see the distasteful expression on Percy's face as he relented and kneeled, and Naruto could relate to the feeling.

Seeing the either brave or stupid demigod kneel, Mars forced the flames to extinguish themselves and Mars looked over the crowd of campers, "Romans, lend me your ears!" He laughed-a deep, hearty laugh that reeked of genuine amusement. "I've always wanted to say that. That Antony really knew how to move a crowd with his speeches. Anyways, I come from Olympus with a message for you. Now, Jupiter does not like us communicating directly with mortals, especially nowadays, but he has allowed this exception, as you Romans have proven yourselves and have always held a special place in my chest cavity."

Naruto wasn't sure he said that phrase correctly.

"I'm only permitted to speak for a few minutes, so listen up," he said. He pointed his thick finger at Gwen, "She should be six feet underground now, yet she isn't. The monsters you fight no longer will stay down when they are slain. Some demigods, using her as an example, who have died either recently or long ago are now walking amongst the living." Mars paused here before revealing the reasoning behind it all. "Thanatos, death himself, has been captured and chained. The Doors of Death he held control over have wrenched from his grasp and are now open. Gaea allows our enemies to travel into the world of mortals, your world. Her sons, the giants, are mustering whole armies against you, armies that you will not be able to kill, I remind you. Unless Death is unleashed to return to his duties, you will be overrun and extinguished. You must find him and free him from his bindings. Release him and whatever you kill will be rightfully dead."

Mars looked around, and everyone was still silently kneeling, "Okay, you can get up now. Any questions?"

Naruto rose immediately, while Reyna rose in a more reserved manner. They approached the god, followed by Octavian, who was bowing like a professional kiss ass in Naruto's eyes.

Naruto spoke first, "Thanatos is the god of death, so that means that people will just stop dying?"

Mars made an iffy motion with his hand, "Not all at once, but it will eventually get to that point. Monsters are already pests that are hard to dispatch, but soon they will be completely impossible to put down. Eventually, even mortals will stop dying as well."

Octavian chose this moment it interject with his own question, "Oh, great and powerful Lord Mars, this humblest of the humble one wonders that if we cannot die then wouldn't it be a good thing?"

"Naïve demigods," Mars muttered shaking his head before speaking up, "What Is the point of war if it would have no end? Endless carnage that just kept repeating itself. Enemies that keep getting back up because they can't be killed. Is that what you want?"

Again Percy chimed in with a distasteful expression on his face, "You're the god of war. Isn't endless carnage your forte?"

Flames grew in Mars's eyes, "You have a smart mouth, don't you? I can see why I may have fought you before. I am the god of war, yes, but military might that is used for righteous cause. For the glory of **ROME.** The full god of war would be your Praetor's mother, but **I** protect the legions. War without end is not something I desire. You'll see for yourself eventually."

Mars raised his gun into the air, and everybody ducked or covered their ears expecting gunfire. The god rolled his eyes, "Get up you bunch of babies. I'm not going to shoot," he glared at Percy," no matter how much I want to. Instead, I order a quest! You will go north to the land beyond the gods, find Thanatos, and free him from his bondage, thwarting the giants' plans," Mars glowered and swept his gaze across the crowd of teens, stopping to look at a specific four in particular, "But beware the might of Gaea. Beware her son, the eldest giant."

Naruto's eyes widened. He had only heard rumors of the land beyond the gods' influence and power like everybody else, but it at least proved what had happened to the old Fifth Cohort and the eagle.

Standing next to Frank, Hazel let out a terrified sort of squeak, "The land beyond the gods?"

Mars stared down at her and stayed staring at her for a long minute before answering her, "That's right, Levesque. You know exactly what I mean. Everyone here knows of the land beyond the gods, the land where the legion lost its honor! Perhaps if you are to succeed, and return by the Feast of Fortuna then maybe your honor will be restored. Romans, know what is at stake. If you don't succeed, there will be no camp to return to. The remnants of Rome will be overrun, and there will be nothing left. Do not let that happen."

There was a heavy silence that befell the group as everyone digested what was at stake.

Mars grunted and waved his gun towards Frank, causing everyone next to him to flinch back a little. "Get over here, boy."

Frank hesitantly walked over to the god. He slowly made it, and stood in front of Mars.

"Good job tonight, kid. Who were the refs for this game?"

Naruto and Reyna both raised their hands.

"Now I know you seen what I saw," He stated with a heavy cloak of pride over his voice. "That was _my_ kid, my blood. First over the wall, and won the game for his team. Unless you are both blind, I'd say that was a play worthy of the Mural Crown don't ya think?"

Regardless of the feeling that they had to say yes, Frank's actions were actually worthy, "Yes, he does Lord Mars. We'll make sure of it."

"Good. My kid, here!" He said loudly, and Naruto noticed that Frank looked like he wanted to disappear from existence. "Emily Zhang's son," Mars continued in a softer tone of voice than what he had been using, "She was a good woman, and a good soldier too. Here, kid. Happy late birthday. It's time you started using a real man's weapon and not that sissy bow of yours."

Mars took his giant gun in both his massive mits and tossed it to Frank, and Naruto for a split second wondered if a teen of Frank's sizable bulk would be able to handle it. But before his eyes the gun shifted into a small and thinner weapon. When it landed in Frank's hands, what was once a giant gun, was now a spear? The shaft was imperial gold and its point was…some sort of white bone? Naruto couldn't really identify it, but guessed it held some sort of power due to its flickering of pale, ghostly light.

"The tip is a dragon's tooth," Mars clarified, still talking to Frank, "You haven't learned how to use your mother's abilities yet, so this spear will give you some breathing room until you do. Your mother would find a way to kill me if I let you do something like this without any proper help. Its power is limited to only three charges though, so use it wisely."

Mars turned his attention back to the teens, specifically Reyna and himself, "Now, unless anybody has any objections to it, my kid Frank Zhang will lead this quest to the land beyond the gods to free Thanatos."

No one said a word of course, but Naruto could see the looks of jealousy, envy, and anger directed at Frank.

"Good. You can only take three companions, and two of them have to be him," he pointed to Percy, "and the other him."

To Naruto's surprise and shock he was the one being pointed at.

"The first one, he's gonna learn some respect for Mars on the trip or die trying, and I don't much care which one. The second one because his presence on this quest is needed and I was strong armed into making him go. The last member you can choose whoever you want."

Suddenly there was a flash of lightning and a boom of thunder.

Mars looked up into the sky, "Well, that's it for me," He surveyed the collected group of campers once more, "This is a special group of Romans. I can feel it. Do not disappoint me."

There was an eruption of flames once more, and then the god was gone.

Reyna turned towards Frank and Naruto could see the look of unease on her face. She raised her arm in a Roman salute and said, "Ave, Frank Zhang, son of Mars."

Naruto and the legion followed her up with a repeat of it.

Naruto knew that it was late in the evening, and tomorrow was going to be the beginning of preparations for the camp. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, "Alright everybody! Time to turn it in for the night. We all need to be focused for the coming days and fully rested!"

He stood there as the collected group of teens slowly dispersed away into their respective cohorts. In a few minutes, the only people that were left in the field were him and Reyna, and then they too walked back to get some shut eye. They both were going to need it.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to see nothing, but darkness. He looked around, and couldn't make heads or tails of where he was. Was he even still sleeping?

Slowly he heard voices. Two of them, one female and one male. As the voices got louder and clearer, he recognized them. In a flash the shadowy environment he was in changed. He was now in a cabin, and in the cabin stood two figures.

Jason and Lady Juno.

"Jason!" He called out, and tried to run to him, but he couldn't move. He began to panic, and tried to move anything. His legs, his arms, damnit even his toes! But nothing would respond. He could only stare and listen. He drew upon the mammoth pools of Kurama's power, bracing himself for the burning sensation, but…nothing. No flare up, no pain, no red haze….just nothing.

He was helpless.

He got angry at not being able to do anything, but before he could start struggling anymore, something was said that caught his attention.

"An exchange of leaders was necessary: it was the only way to bridge the gap between the two camps," Juno said.

Naruto's mind raced. What did she mean by whatever she was saying?

Jason scowled deeply, "I didn't agree to any of this," he gritted out through clenched teeth. Naruto could tell he was having a hard time controlling his anger in the face of the revelation.

"No, you did not. But Zeus gave me control of this, as he is busy in the face of other rising problems on Olympus, and I am helping you reach your full potential young Grace. You will play a critical role in the events that will take place, and you will be tested like non others before you. Failure is not an option for you," Juno stated.

Naruto was taken aback by what Juno was saying, and he could tell that Jason was too.

"You're not giving back my memories," he stated angrily as a fact and not a question. "Even though you promised you would."

Juno, either not noticing his tone or choosing not to acknowledge it, responded, "Most of your memories will return in time. Think of it like a case of amnesia. Strong queues will help as well, things that your mind can subconsciously associate with your past. Do not be so quick to return to your home. You need these next few months with your new friends, your new home."

Juno opened her mouth to continue, but she was cut off by Jason's outraged outburst.

"This place is not my home! I have one already, Lady Juno. I may not remember it, but I do remember what it felt like to have a home, and this is not it. I don't even know who I am anymore!" He raged at her.

Naruto could see the beginnings of an angry Jason. His eyes flickered with lightning, his hair stood on end as the electric current ran along his skin, and the cloth in the cabin began to sway due to the wind he began to produce.

With a wave of her hand, everything instantly died down, and Jason returned to normal.

She continued speaking, "As I was saying, you're gaining their trust and you are slowly trusting them as well, and you cannot deny it. By the time you set sail, you will be a leader at this camp, that is just who you are. At the point will you be ready to peacemaker between the two of the greatest powers that walked this earth.

Jason clenched his jaw, and glared at Lady Juno for a long minute before sighing and running a hand through his hair. "What if I fail? What if this causes another civil war?"

Lady Juno smiled amusedly, "Do not fret, you are not alone in this endeavor. Your counterpart is in the same position as you are. You two are pivotal to my plan, and you two will succeed. You two will be the ones that bring about the change that is needed to combat this apocalyptic threat. The giants will rise, and each can only be killed by a god and demigod working together. Those seven demigods must be the greatest of this age. The prophecy demands we change, and if we cannot then we shall fall. Gaea is counting on this from us. You must unite the heroes of Olympus, the demigods that will carve their name into the history books of the Gods, and sail together to meet the giants on the aincient grounds of Greece. Only then will the gods be convinced to join you. It will be the most dangerous quest ever attempted, the most important voyage ever taken by the children of the gods."

"I could ruin everything and fail to meet what is expected of me," Jason murmered.

"It is possible," Juno said, "But you won't. The gods have always needed heroes. We always have."

Jason quirked an eyebrow, "Even you? The goddess who is known for hating heroes?"

Juno sighed in what Naruto could tell was unhappiness. "I am the goddess of marriage, and it is not in my nature to be faithless. So, as a result I have no mortal heroes to do my bidding, which is why I am bitter toward demigods and heroes. That's why I favored the first Jason. He was pure mortal, who had no godly mortal parent to guide him like the others did. I am glad Zeus gave you to me, Jason. You will be _my_ champion, you will be the _greatest_ of heroes, and bring unity to the demigods, and thus to Olympus."

Naruto could literally feel the weight her words carried. He didn't think anyone could reach the expectation Juno set forth. He didn't think that if it was anyone other than Jason that is. He had complete faith in him. He knew Jason could do this, and he would have his support.

No questions asked.

"And if I fail?" Jason asked.

Juno sighed once more, "With great victory comes even greater risk. Fail, and there will be repercussions no one, mortal or otherwise has seen. Demigods will be at each other's throats, destroying one another. The giants will overrun Olympus with their tide changing strength. Gaea herself will wake, and the very earth will shake all mankind has created over their existence to dust and ash. It will be the end of the world as we know it."

Jason was an odd shade of green and white, like he was ready to throw up from what Juno had just said.

"Well that's just great."

* * *

In the next instant Naruto was awoke. He snapped up from his bed, breathing heavily and coated in a light sheen of sweat. He sat there for a minute digesting what he had just seen and heard. Firstly, he felt so relieved that Jason was alive and apparently kicking. He was worried about him for the longest time, and it felt good to finally know. He still didn't know where he was, but at least he was safe.

Next, he went over what Lady Juno was telling him. She had mentioned something about a prophecy and seven demigods. Naruto deduced that one of them was, of course Jason, and the other he did not know. He had a feeling, but he wasn't sure yet. This quest was seemed to him like the beginning of the changes Lady Juno spoke about.

Speaking of which, they needed to discuss the quest himself. He needed to start getting ready if he was to make it there early this time. The last time he wasn't on time Reyna scolded him right in front of everybody. Granted, no one would dare speak about it aloud, but he swore he heard snickers every now and then when he walked in the open.

It was 15 minutes into it, and the meeting was well under way. Frank had been bestowed the mural crown, which he totally deserved, got his first stripe, and his centurion's mark. Naruto himself hadn't really been paying much attention, partly due to the fact that Octavian was the one doing it and due to the fact that he had already seen so many of these. Granted, not all at the same time and given to one person, but still.

They were now getting to the elephant in the room, the quest, and Naruto paid close attention.

"Do you know where you are going? Do you and your _group_ even have a plan?" Octavian asked and Naruto could feel the sarcasm he put into the word 'group'.

Hazel stepped up and put a hand on Frank's shoulder for support, as he was still reeling from all of the medals he got in one day. "You were listening, right Octavian? We're going to the land beyond the gods. Alaska."

Just saying the name made everyone in the room uncomfortable. The senators wriggled and squirmed in their togas, some of the ghosts who were attending flickered and some outright disappeared, and even Reyna's dogs became uneasy and whimpered with their tails low to the floor.

For a few moments, no one said a thing. Finally one of the senators, Larry he believed, stood. "We all know what Mars said last night, but that's ludicrous. Alaska is cursed! 'The land beyond the gods'! It is called that for a very, very good reason. The Roman gods hold no power up there. That accursed place is swarming with monsters and who knows what else if they are keeping Death himself there! No demigod has come back from there intact since -"

"Since you lost your eagle," Percy finished for him.

Larry gulped down the lump in his throat and gave a shaky nod.

The whole room turned to Percy now, curious.

"Look," Percy continued, unaffected by the multitude of eyes on him, "I just got here, but I know that you guys don't like to mention the massacre in the nineteen-eighties-"

"He mentioned it!" one of the ghosts whimpered loudly with his head stuck in an empty vase.

"-But this a chance to right what happened there. You all know the story. It was the Fifth Cohort that led the expedition, and they-we failed, and now we are the ones responsible for making things right. This is what this quest is for. This giant, he's the one that defeated your forces all those years ago, I'm sure of it! And now he's sitting up there with Death chained, and your eagle. He is amassing an army to attack this camp."

"Is that right?" Octavian questioned with narrowed eyes. "You seem to know quite a bit about our enemy's plans, Percy Jackson."

"I hope you're not insinuating what I think you are, Octavian?" Naruto asked dangerously. He heard the tone Octavian took and knew he was calling Percy a spy, and Naruto wasn't going to let that stand. His gut was telling him that Percy was trustworthy.

"I'm just saying. How does he know all of what he is speaking about? How do we know is he's telling the truth or that he is even trustworthy? For crying out loud, he claims to have fought a god and live to tell about it." He stated.

"Lady Juno herself was at his side when he saved the lives of the two at his side. Mars himself basically explained all of this himself. If that is not enough proof that he is not only trustworthy, but brave, then you will never find your proof," Naruto argued.

Octavian glared at Naruto and Naruto glared right back. Octavian opened his mouth to speak, but Reyna cut him off.

"That is enough out of the both of you! We are here to discuss a quest, not how trustworthy or not Percy Jackson is! Regardless of if he is or is not Octavian, there will be three Romans with him, one of them being a Praetor like myself. I'd say that is ample security should he prove to what you insinuated. From this point on, only talk of this quest shall happen at this meeting like it was intended. Afterwards, you may do what you want, but now we have more pressing matters," She finished and then stared hard at the both of them. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yea, we're clear Reyna." "I understand."

Percy took this a sign to continue speaking. "We have no other choice than to confront the giant that resides there. We'll get back what was lost to the camp and unchain death or err…" He glanced at Hazel for help. "Thanatos, right?"

"Yea, but it's Letus in Roman," she corrected. "What you're thinking of is his old Greek name."

Octavian rolled his eyes, "No matter his name, there is still the deadline that was given. To get back by the Feast of Fortune? That's the evening of the twenty-forth, and it's the twentieth now. Do you even now where to look? Or even know which son of Gaea we are dealing with?"

Percy shut his mouth, and Naruto couldn't answer that.

To everyone's surprise, Hazel answered him. "Yes, I do," she spoke with a great level of certainty that surprised Naruto. "I have a pretty good idea where to look, and I know the giant's name. It's Alyconeus."

Yet again the room was silenced, but this time an eerie chill was felt.

Reyna looked hard at Hazel, "How do you know the giant's name? Does it have something to do with you being a daughter of Pluto?"

It was at this moment Nico chose to actually say something. Naruto almost forgot he was in here, wearing his shadowy black toga and his half dead look. Honestly, he couldn't be quieter.

"Praetors, if I may speak," he began, "Hazel and I…we learned more about the giants from our father. We learned that each giant was specifically bred to oppose one of the twelve Olympian gods-to be their absolute counter in every aspect of that specific god. The king of the giants was, as you could've guessed, an anti-Jupiter. His name was Porphyrion, but the eldest of the giants was Alyconeus. He was born to oppose Pluto. That's why we know about him in particular."

Naruto exchanged a look with Reyna. It made sense, but why couldn't Hazel answer the question herself?

Naruto nodded at Nico to continue.

He twiddled his fingers and pulled at his toga. "Anyways, the giants were hard to kill. According to prophecy, they could only be defeated by gods and demigods working together."

Dakota, somehow having snuck in a flask of Kool-Aid in hand, belched. "Sorry, did you say gods _and_ demigods…like fighting side by side and working together and all that? That's impossible."

Nico shook his head at that, "Not impossible. In fact it has happened before. In the first giant war, the gods called on heroes to join them, and they came out victorious. Now, whether it can happen again, I don't know, but I do know it has to. With Alcyoneus…he was different from the others. As long as he remained in his home territory, the place he was born, he was completely immortal-impossible to kill be it god or demigod."

He paused and let it sink in. "And if he has been reborn in Alaska…"

"Then he can't be defeated there," Reyna finished. "That explains why our nineteen-eighty expedition failed. It was doomed from the beginning."

This broke the false calm that everyone had. Everyone started shouting out and arguing.

"Then it's impossible!"

"How can such a thing even exist?!"

"That's so unfair!"

"Quiet!" Naruto hollered. They're shouting out was only making this longer than necessary. They were on a tight enough time limit as is. "Regardless of if he is immortal or not, he is still killable. We just have to find out how they did it last time and do that. I, for one, want to get going on this quest, we are on a time limit if you all haven't forgotten, but I do have a question for you Di Angelo."

Nico gave Naruto his attention, as did the rest of the room, and asked, "What is it?"

"Mars said that Death had been chained…how is that possible?" He questioned.

"It's been done before. In the ancient times a dude named Sisyphus tricked Death and tied him up, and Hercules wrestled him down."

"So," Percy interjected, "if we free Thanatos, then the dead would stay dead, right?" He glanced at Gwen and winced, "Uhh…no offense."

Nico sighed in exasperation, "It's more complicated than that."

Octavian scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Why am I not surprised?"

"The Door of Death," Reyna said, ignoring Octavian. "They are mentioned in the Prophecy of Seven, which sent the first expedition to Alaska-"

A ghost cut her off, "We all know how that turned out! We Lares-!"

Before he could continue, Nico put a finger to his lips in a shushing motion, and all of the other Lares in the building went silent. Some looked panicked due to their mouths not being able to open anymore.

With that deed done, Nico continued, "Thanatos is only part of the solution. The Doors of Death are the personal doors of Thanatos. They are like his express way into Life and Death, and only he is supposed to know where they are because the location of them shifts over the ages. Now, though, they are being forced open by Gaea's minions, meaning-"

"Meaning that Gaea controls who can come back from the dead," Percy finished gravely.

Nico nodded, "Exactly. She has control over them, choosing who to send back to life, and that is not good. Monsters that have long been killed will come back, evil souls that should stay dead won't. If we unchain Thanatos the at least he will be able to bring the souls back down under. Monsters will die they used to, but they won't stay that way for long. Unless we close the Doors of Death, our enemies won't stay down for long."

Frank, who snapped out of his stupor and began to listen, scratched the top of his head, "But if we free Thanatos, he should be able to retake the Doors of Death because he know where they are, right?"

Nico shook his head negative, "I don't think so. Not alone. He is no match Gaea. It would take a massive quest. An army of the best demigods the world has to offer."

"Foes bear arms to the Doors of Death," Reyna said. "That's the prophecy. We don't have the resources nor the manpower to send an army to take the doors _and_ defend the camp. I can't even imagine sparing seven demigods…"

"First things first," Naruto interjected. He could sense the levels of panic rising in the room. "We can deal with the Prophecy of Seven when we are not on crunch time here," he said staring right at Reyna whose eyes had turned to the floor due to her thinking. He looked back up to the room, "Let's concentrate on the task before us first. We need to free Thanatos, and get back here before the feast. After we succeed, then we can worry about the Doors of Death," he said confidently.

Naruto breathed a silent sigh of relief as he felt people's level of panic fall back down. But Octavian had to open his mouth again.

"You sound confident. Do you even have a plan?" He asked, and Naruto cold hear the slight sneer in his voice.

Naruto glanced at Percy, Frank, and Hazel before answering, "We get to Alaska as fast as we can, and then take things from there."

"We improvise," Percy added.

"A lot," Hazel and Frank said at the same time.

"See?" Naruto asked. "Now all we need is to put to vote on what support will be provided for the quest."

"If I may say," Octavian began, "the camp is in grave danger. _Two_ gods have warned us that we will be attacked in four days from now. We cannot spread our resources thin on the off chance that a rag tag group can succeed in this quest," his face went sad and had a pitying look on it.

Naruto wanted to throw up.

"The ones who have been chosen do not have the best track record. Perhaps they were chosen because they were the most expendable, and couldn't help in the important task of defending the camp, defending our lives."

"Well, then why did he choose Naruto to go?" Dakota asked in an oddly serious tone.

Octavian stared at Dakota for a second before answering, "Perhaps he wanted to make it seem like there was at least a chance in the quest. I cannot speak for a god, no one here can, but I can speculate. Whatever the case is, he did not order a massive expedition, like he could've, nor did he ask us to fund this quest. There are only four of them after all. No, I say we keep the resources here. Where the battle will be one or loss. If the camp were to fall, then who would they come back to on the small chance they succeeded in their quest? Now, the chances are small, but if they succeed then that's wonderful, but it should be done so by their power and ingenuity."

An uneasy murmur rippled through the crowd, and Naruto clenched his fist until his knuckles became white. He looked at Reyna, wondering how she was standing the absolute garbage that was coming out of Octavian's mouth, and saw that, while her face was passive, she was gripping the arms of her chair in a death grip.

Naruto caught out of the corner of his eye, Frank shoot up and try to go for Octavian, but was stopped cold by Percy's arm. "Fine!" Percy yelled out over the murmurs. "No problem. But at least give us transportation. Gaea holds domain over the earth, right? Then we need something that doesn't touch the earth. Like a plane or a boat?"

Before Octavian could speak up and sway the crowd even more than he already had, Reyna interjected, "We can grant you access to a boat. That is doable," she straightened up in her chair and said tightly. "We'll put it to vote. Senators, the motion is as follows: The quest shall go north to Alaska. The senate shall provide full access to the Roman navy docked at Alameda. No other aid shall be provided beyond that. The four adventurers will succeed or fail on their own merits. All in favor?"

All but one hand went up, and she sent a small respectful nod Dakota's way. He, of course did not see it due to him drinking from his flask, but she knew he did it on purpose.

"The motion is passed," Reyna said and turned to Frank. "Centurion, your party is excused. The senate has other matters to discuss, and Naruto will join you after it is adjourned. And, Octavian, if we may confer with you for a moment."

So, with that said, Frank, Percy and Hazel left the building, and Naruto sat back down in his Praetor chair with an angry huff.

There was nothing he could do now. They were to go to the land beyond the gods, fight a giant and whatever else he had up there, free Death itself, and return with the golden eagle, and all before the feast in a few days. This was to be the hardest challenge laid on his plate to date. It was do or die…

And he had no plans of dying.

.

.

.

.

.

Mars teleported back up to Olympus in a flash, and was immediately confronted.

"Did you do what I asked of you?"

Mars rolled his eyes but answered, "Yeah, I did. I don't know why you wanted me to. The boy looked kind of flaky in my opinion."

"That's because all of your children are built more to choke out a bear than to outsmart it."

He nodded. He couldn't argue with that. "Why, besides the obvious, do you want him to go on this quest? If what you said about him is true, then your plan may not even work. He might even die."

"If I see it getting to that point, then I will step in. I want him on this quest to see what his potential is, to see what he can do. He is an unknown to most of us due to who his father is, and you know how far he is willing to go for his privacy. That child is not supposed to exist. He is a combination of two different bloods that should have made him explode by now, but he hasn't."

Mars raised a burnt eyebrow, "So?"

A roll of eyes, "This child has the potential to be a god! If he comes in contact with the other half of his life, like I'm assuming he will, he will have to be able to survive. We gods cannot go there without explicit permission, and we cannot interfere with anything on that continent due to the gods that already reside there. They will want him back Mars, to integrate him into his homeland, and make him one of their own once he reaches his peak! To use him as a weapon. And we cannot allow that to happen."

"So, this plan of yours will make him wary of his homeland, and make him want nothing to do with it?" He questioned.

A nod. "Yes."

Mars scratched his chin. "That's kind of cold of you to do to your own blood, ya know? Aren't you all about family?"

"I'm keeping him in the family, in _our_ family. Not in there's. He belongs with us, and my plan will make him see that as clear as day."

Mars shrugged his shoulders, "Just remember you promised my boy would not get caught in the crossfire of this. I know how destructive _their_ fights can get, and I don't like it."

"Oh, I remember my promise. Your boy will lead his quest like he was meant to, but his survival is not up to me. That is dependent on his skill, and the skill of his two companions."

Mars nodded, "I know, but, he's got his mother's blood in him to. He'll realize his potential soon enough. I know he will. Are we done, Lady Juno?"

Juno nodded her head, and snapped her fingers as Mars flashed out of her chambers.

In a red blur, a figure appeared kneeling at her feet.

"Rise, my daughter-in-law."

Kushina Uzumaki raised her head and opened her purple eyes which had a golden mist over them that flashed away, "What is it you wish of me mother?"


	11. Chapter 11: Don't Call it A Flashback

Don't call it a comeback. Seriously...don't. Back at it again with a new chapter. Solid length, but it has what's needed. There is a flashback here, if you already didn't know, and it's important. Well, not really, but I think it's cool.

Markus-Antonius: Gracias for the feedback. Jason is gruff cuz, that's how the Romans were, and this is Jason before his exposure to the Greek half, so he's still pretty Roman. And Reyna is more emotional, cuz, c'mon, bringing out emotions in people is Naruto's strong suit no matter the person. It's just what he does. And Octavian was given credit because I'm pretty sure, despite his...charm, he needed to be good with a weapon as per usual with the Romans. Continue to read though, and continue to give your feedback.

Guest: I didn't take away anything that made Naruto him. His jutsu doesn't do that, it's his personality, and I think I captured that. There are stories that have Naruto not having chakra or even being blind. It's not the outward appearance, it's what's inside. His character.

ultima-owner: Yes, yes it would.

AlphaScribe: Thanks for the kind words, and her you go, yo.

Acolyte of The Red Moon: I brought her back for the reason Juno said. The goddess of marriage and _family_ brought back his mother, her son's wife, and technically her daughter in law. Ironic dontcha think? or really clever? And here's another chapter for you by the way.

Sniperbeattie: Here's the next chapter, and hold onto the seat of your pants cuz we are getting there and quickly. Gotta wait and find out.

XXX Chaos Breaker XXX: Gracias homie.

ENDDRAGON369: Sorry to say, I don't know much about that Anime besides the basics. I also wouldn't want to add another element into this that may throw it all off, ya know? I hope you keep reading despite that.

* * *

Naruto stormed into the principia with Reyna trailing him, and just as furious. His long red hair began to wave slowly behind him as a result of his angry state. He walked in and sat down aggressively in his chair, crossed his arms, and began to curse under his breath. He finally noticed someone else was in there with them, sitting in the front.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked him.

Percy stuttered for a second, having watched two people walk in with murder in their eyes, one had his hair waving around like bloody snake, and the other had two pretty big metal dogs that looked just about as angry as she did. "Uh," he finally got out. "Reyna. She was the one-"

"I wanted him in here so we can talk," Reyna interrupted angrily. She stabbed her dagger down onto a table as she passed it, rattling the bowl of half empty jelly beans and terrifying the life out of Percy, before sitting in her chair with a heavily stressed sigh.

"Fine. But we still need to talk afterwards," He said with an irritated scowl on his face.

"Look, if me being here is a problem, then I can just go," Percy offered, but was immediately shot down.

"It's not you," Reyna started.

"It's those damn senate meetings," Naruto interjected. "Ugh, I hate those things with a passion. You know that's the only place Octavian is better than us at, right?"

Reyna rolled her eyes, "You don't have to tell me that. I know my way around one, but once Octavian gets talking…"

Despite the display of emotion from Reyna that Percy had yet to experience in person, he thought she was the usual stoic leader who had no heart or something, Percy felt comfortable in the presence of the two Praetors. "You guys are warriors. Octavian is a talker. Put him on a battlefield and you can wipe the floor with him, but put him in front of the senate and suddenly he is the powerful one."

Naruto nodded his head, "Exactly."

Reyna narrowed her eyes at him, "You're smarter than you look."

Percy didn't know if he should feel offended or flattered. "Gee, thanks. I hear Octavian might get elected in his," he nodded to Naruto, "place while he is gone on this quest."

"Which brings us to the topic of doomsday," Reyna said while pulling off the silver ring she had on her finger, "and how you might help prevent it. But before all of that, there is some things we need to get straightened."

It was here that she stopped as Naruto face palmed. Percy and she looked at him, while he groaned in frustration.

"I forgot to tell you about my dream, and what I learned. Stupid senate meeting and stupid Octavian made me forget all about it," he grumbled loud enough for them to hear.

"Now is not the time to hear about one of your numerous and crazy dreams, Naruto," Reyna said.

Naruto shook his head, "No, this one was about Jason."

"There goes that name again. From the sound of it, he was very important to the two of you…"Percy trailed off after seeing the looks he was given.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair, "He was. More than you could imagine. He was my brother in all but blood, and he was her-"

"Boyfriend," Reyna finished, and throwing Naruto a look for forgetting to tell her about his dream. "We were dating before he disappeared and I don't want to talk about this right now."

"And why not?" Naruto questioned. "Here is the only chance we are going to get through this, Reyna."

"But there are more important things to discuss at the moment, and I'd rather what you are talking about be discussed between the two of us. In private," she insisted.

"I am leaving after lunch, Reyna, which is in a few hours. On a quest that I may or may not come back from. After the years of you avoiding this, I think it's pretty damn important," Naruto argued. Now, he brought up the possibility of him not coming back, even though he would do it all in his power to make it back, quests have been known to be unpredictable.

Percy, still very curious about the whole situation, asked the million dollar question. "What happened?"

"We were the best of friends. We were as close as family. Where one went, the other two went with. It was during the Second Olympian War where we formed an unbreakable bond under the flames of war. We became forces of nature on the battlefield. Ask anybody, hell, even ask Octavian about us, and, despite the mutual dislike, we were respected. It was the reason we are Praetors now. But, it was after the war that I found out that my two best friends, my brother and sister, were lying to me and going behind my back to be in a relationship…"He revealed. All while he was talking, he stared right at Reyna, wanting to see her reactions.

"Naruto…we planned on telling you…"Reyna tried to say, but her words got caught in her throat.

"Oh, I know that now, but you had already been dating for three months! Three months Reyna. Three months of lying to me. Do you know how much that hurt to find out?" He asked. She could still hear the raw feeling behind his She shook her head side to side sadly, eyes to the floor in shame. "I knew you would feel betrayed, but we thought it best that-"

"You thought it best that you keep it a secret because of my feelings for you." He finished for her. Before she could ask how he knew, he continued speaking. "It was after I saw you two kiss each other at our training grounds," he looked to Percy. "We had our own training grounds at the time because Jason was Praetor, so that came with it, and because we needed a space to experiment with mine and his powers. Back to what I was saying, it was after that, that Jason found me later that day, and explained it all to me," Naruto winced as he remembered what went down.

 ** _FLASHBACK_**

 ** _SLASH_**

 _I thought they were my friends!_

 ** _THUMP THUD WHOOSH_**

 _I thought that we trusted each other with anything and everything!_

 ** _SWISH SLASH_**

 _I can't believe them!_

 ** _SLAM_**

 _By the time Naruto stepped back from the training dummy, there was nothing left but the pole it was attached to, and even then that was barely there. It was demolished. There was no other way to describe it. Bits and pieces of the training dummy littered the empty field. Parts of the dummy had been reduced to ash, others were embedded into the ground like broken flag poles._

 _This was one of three._

 _When he got here, he was riding a vengeful wave of anger and hurt. The three training dummys were the only thing in sight for him to hit. He wouldn't be surprised if he was forced to pay for their replacement, but at the moment he didn't care, he still doesn't care either. He didn't care about the wary looks the other campers were sending him or the slightly angry ones some were giving his back for taking over their place in training. But he could care less. They didn't open their mouths due to the trio of dick heads who couldn't take a hint and were now lying unconscious with probably broken bones and mild burns._

 _No, there was something else or rather, two someones on his mind right now. He wanted nothing to do with them. So, he bolted before he did something he'd regret._

 _Just thinking about it made him a mighty combination of hurt and furious at the same time._

 _"_ _Naruto!"_

 _He turned and snarled at the voice that sounded off his name. This was the last person he wanted to see._

 _Wisps of red energy began to waft off of his arms, his shoulders, and his back. He felt the power, and he struggled to contain it._

 _"_ _I knew you'd be here, man. Okay, look Naruto, I know you're mad. But, I'm here to apolog-.!"_

 _Whatever he was going to say was effectively cut off as a stray piece from a dummy flew at him._

 _Naruto growled and his lip pulled back showing Jason his sharpened canines, and smoke wafted out of his mouth._

 _"_ _Draw your weapon, Grace," was all he said._

 _He saw Jason gulp, but not question it. He flipped his coin and out came his Gladius. He got in a ready stance, but Naruto could still see the sorry look he held in his eyes. He faltered a bit at that, but then his anger overwhelmed whatever sense of reason he had._

 _He crouched low, his legs apart and ready to burst him forward. He discarded his tonfa on the ground. No, he was going to beat him purely with his two hands. He was going to feel his fists hit his face. He knew he came here to apologize for his part in what went down, but Naruto didn't want to hear it until he showed him just how he felt…_

 _With his fists…_

 _With a roar he pushed off, splintering the ground where he once was, and in an instance he was in Jason's face. He smiled sinisterly at the shocked look that grew on his face. Before he could bring his sword up to bear, Naruto's fist rocketed forward with the force of a speeding train, and impacted with the side of Jason's face in a savage right hook. It was like a gunshot rang out. Jason's head was forced the other way by the brutal punch, and Naruto could see the blossoming bruise on his right cheek. He followed up with a jaw breaking uppercut from his left that connected with Jason's chin with a resounding smack. The strength behind the blow momentarily lifted Jason off of his feet and defenseless. He grabbed the back of Jason's head and brought his knee dead into his gut. Jason's eyes popped open from the blow to his abdomen and blood and spittle was forcefully expelled from his mouth._

 _Naruto stepped back from the stunned Jason, and watched as he fell to his knees gripping his stomach and dry heaving in pain. He scowled hard still and brought his leg up to kick Jason in the head, but he was knocked back by a sudden gust of powerful wind. He was forced back from Jason's downed body, and he put a hand up to cover his eyes from the bits of training dummy and rock that flew up at him._

 _The power of the wind grew and circulated around Jason, and Naruto smiled despite himself. Good. He'd be even madder if Jason just sat there and took the beating he was dishing out. The campers that were around the grounds were sent skidding away with wild eyes, but Naruto anchored himself to the ground to keep from sliding away like they were._

 _Naruto saw Jason wipe his mouth, and stagger his way up, head down with his bangs covering his face as a literal mini tornado raged around him, whipping around his hair and clothes. Naruto felt the hairs on his arms begin to rise, as he sensed the air begin to feel electric and smell like ozone._

 _He flared his own formidable powers, creating a red haze around him that protected him from the powerful winds. His eyes and his entire body glowed red as his god blood flowed through his veins and was drawn out._

 _Jason finally looked up, and Naruto saw the hard scowl on his face. Pure electricity arced in his eyes. So much that he couldn't discern any pupils or anything. His eyes had seemed to turn into lightning. Quick arcs of lightning bounced off his skin and down his body. He stabbed his sword into the ground, and pointed a glowing fist at Naruto._

 _"_ _I came here to talk Naruto, but if I'm going to have to beat you until calm down enough to listen to me then so be it. I hold no excuses for what I did, but you WILL listen to what I have to say," he said with narrowed eyes._

 _Naruto grunted in anger as his purple camp shirt burned away from the heat his body was emitting. This was why he made those heat resistant shirts, but it just had to be today of all days that it was laundry day._

 _At least it was one less shirt to wash._

 _His red hair flared behind him as waves of heat clashed with cutting blades of air. The teenage powerhouses were set to knock the block off of the other. They knew the other wouldn't stop until they were beaten black and blue._

 _In the briefest of moments before utter chaos ensued, two smiles grew on each of their faces._

 _With simultaneous yells, the two teens rushed each, fists pulled back ready to clobber what was ahead of them. They both planted their front foot into the ground, demolishing the earth, and swung, Jason an uppercut and Naruto an overhand right._

 _There was deafening clap of thunder and what sounded like the roaring of a volcano as the two blows met their targets in each other's faces._

 _When the campers who witnessed the two of the best their cam had to offer clash like they had were asked what they saw they described it as, 'The most brutal fistfight they had ever seen.'_

 _They say from that point, not one of them moved from their spot. They just stood there and threw titanic blows at each. Haymaker after haymaker after haymaker after haymaker was thrown. Flashes of lightning, booms of thunder, smoldering heat, and gunshot like sounds were felt and heard from the ones able to stay conscious under the onslaught of their two combined auras of power. They said it was like Jupiter himself and Vulcan possessed the two teenagers and just duked it out in the most ruthless, bloody, mangling way possible!_

 _And at the end, when they were both nothing but swollen tissue and hair, they swung one last time. There was a flash of white, an explosion, and then silence. When the dust cleared and the smoke was gone. There was only one standing…_

 ** _FLASHBACK END_**

"So, after we pretty much destroyed the training grounds, sent each other to the hospital, and permanently scarred a few campers, I just…listened to what he had to say," He smiled small, but there was a touch of warmth to it as he remembered what happened. "How could you not forgive someone who, in an almost full body cast mid you, tried to get on his knees and beg for an apology?"

Unknowingly to Naruto, Reyna's heart clenched painfully in her chest at hearing this. She swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat, and tried to keep her composure. She cleared her throat to grab both of their attention, and she nearly faltered as Naruto's gaze fell on her. His eyes had always interested her. What an odd, pretty color…

…what?

She mentally shook it off, and went to speak. "Onto the immediate situation," she said, ignoring Naruto's glare, "With Naruto gone, the camp will be down one Praetor as you know, Percy Jackson. What you and most of the senate don't know is that the situation is a lot worse than they've been led to believe."

"Just how worse?" Percy asked.

Reyna dug her fingers into the armrests of her chair as she recalled what she learned. "Octavian has seen a massive army marching south, bigger than we suspected and bigger than we can possibly defeat without suffering more casualities than I would like to afford. They're led by a giant, and before you ask, it is not Alcyoneus as it would make no sense for him to leave Alasksa, where he is at his strongest and supposedly invulnerable. No, it must be one of his brothers."

Percy sighed heavily, voicing his frustration. "That's just great. So, we got two giants to worry about."

Naruto nodded and spoke up, "Yeah, it's about as shitty as we're gonna get. Lupa and her wolves are trying their damndest to slow them down, but the army is just too big, even for her. Eventually they will get here, and soon too."

"Yes, but it is not all hopeless," Reyna said. "If you succeed and bring back our eagle, release Death so we can actually kill our enemies, then there is a chance."

Percy nodded at the finality in her tone, and gave them a look that asked if he could go. He got two nods, and left in silence, mulling over what he was just told and the quest coming up. He had a gut feeling that this wasn't the first one of these that he had been on, and he wasn't about to let it be his last.

As Percy left, and the door closed, neither of them spoke for a moment. Reyna was fingering the silver ring she wore on her finger, and Naruto was waiting for her to say something.

Eventually Reyna looked to Naruto and spoke.

"Naruto," he looked at her curiously, "I need you to do me a favor." She told him

Naruto nodded his head in agreement, "You want me to check up on your sister for you?"

She looked at him, bewildered by his quick deduction of what she wanted.

He laughed at her look. "You've been messing with that ring you got from your sister, so I guessed it had something to do with her. Plus, I'm pretty sure that we will be going by Seattle, so I just made an educated guess."

He smiled widely at her, and Reyna smiled appreciatively back. She took the ring off and slid it over to Naruto who caught it and gave her a questioning look.

"Show that ring to her so she knows that you are under my protection, and instead of killing you, she may help you. I can't speak for her, though. In fact, I haven't spoken to her in months. She's gone quiet, and regardless of just who she commands now, I still worry about her," She explained to him.

Naruto looked at the ring for a second before slipping it onto his own finger. He'd probably lose it if he put it anywhere else. The dup descended into silence for another time due to the break. They both knew that after lunch, he was leaving. Unbeknownst to the other, they both didn't know how to broach the topic on their minds.

Just as Naruto was fed up with the silence between them, and ready to burst, to his surprise Reyna did something he accepted that she wouldn't do.

Apologize.

"Naruto…I'm sorry for what I had a part in. I know now that it was stupid, and I made a mistake. The reason I didn't say anything was because…was because I was too ashamed. I wouldn't allow myself to take that step. I thought I hadn't done anything wrong. That I made the choice I thought was best for all of us. Jason probably tried to take the blame for it all, didn't he? The idiot. It was my choice, and my pride wouldn't allow me to admit that my choice was the wrong one," she took a deep, shaky breath before continuing. "I was too disgusted with my actions once it hit me just how bad I messed up. By then I was swamped with my duties, and then Jason disappeared and the workload only increased. I can't thank you enough for stepping up, and I know how you felt more than anybody about it. I know that those are just excuses, and it doesn't make up for what I did, but I just wanted to let you know I was sorry before you…left," She said to him. Naruto saw the redness in her eyes, and could just feel her honesty and how genuine she was being. Naruto knew that she was one to never outright put her emotions and her feeling on the table like this, so he was stunned by this apology.

But she wasn't done. Now, the tears started to fall but she continued to stare him right in the eyes. "I know that you probably will never forgive me for what I did, and I'm okay with that. I've accepted it. I just, I just know I couldn't live with myself knowing that I didn't tell you that I was wrong. I hurt you, and I felt, feel, like absolute trash for doing it and not telling you this sooner. So, I'm sorry Naruto."

When she was finished, she wiped away the tears that leaked from her eyes and looked at him sadly, expecting a response. She didn't get one. He was shocked speechless by her apology, and couldn't think of anything to say in response. His brain was still trying to catch up with all what was said.

Reyna, seeing that Naruto didn't move to answer, felt her heart drop into her stomach. She couldn't say that she honestly expected him to just up and forgive her that easily. She had betrayed his trust and was just now apologizing. Anyone in their right mind wouldn't forgive her. She guessed she was just going to give him space for right now. Well, he was going to get all the space he needed on this quest.

She got up from her chair, and wiped her eyes one last time. She didn't look back at Naruto, there was too much raging inside of her right now, and she needed to look the part of Praetor and not some crying little girl. She scoffed internally. Her mother and sister were probably laughing somewhere at her predicament. Crying was a sign of weakness, and she learned early on to never show any weakness. Her mother, the goddess of war itself probably didn't cry. Her sister for sure, didn't cry for she was the one to tell her that particular piece of advice.

She collected herself, and began to leave. She got about halfway before she heard Naruto rise from his chair. Then his hurried footsteps to catch up to her. He finally stopped right behind her.

"Reyna, turn around, please?" He asked her softly.

She clenched her eyes shut and bit her lip. She took a deep breath and turned around…

…right into a warm hug.

"Thank you for the apology, but I already forgave you a long time ago," He whispered into her ear as he pulled her closer.

A few tears slipped from her eyes, as she reciprocated the hug by tightening her arms around his waist. She felt the invisible barrier that was between them fall in this serene moment. All of her worries about the future disappeared, and she allowed herself to just enjoy it.

And enjoy it she did.

Time skip: Four Hours Later

"There's got to be a mistake," Hazel said. "This is a pile of junk."

Naruto sighed, but didn't say anything. Today was just going to suck, wasn't it? Good thing he atleast had some food in his stomach before. It looked like this boat could barely stay afloat let alone sail to where they needed to go. He knew what they were getting into, but there was no other option. While the Romans had a nearly unstoppable land army, it was the sea where they fell a little short. Using the word 'navy' was pushing it.

While they were granted their wish of a boat…it wasn't much. It was more like a leaky dingy.

Naruto silently snickered to himself at that, but apparently not silent enough, as an irate Hazel spun on him angrily.

"You think this is funny, don't you? You red haired hooligan! Don't make shove my foot so far up your-mmmpfhpf!" A hand rose to cover her mouth, and Naruto sent a grateful look to a struggling Frank. He held Hazel in the air as she kicked her feet and struggled against Frank's strength.

Naruto frowned a bit and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't look like a hooligan, did he?

As Naruto was contemplating his look and Frank was struggling with a frenzied Hazel who had devolved into biting his hand in an attempt to escape hos clutches, Percy calmly walked to the boat at took a glance at it.

He closed his eyes and put out a hand towards the water. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared ahead in amazement. Well, slight amazement for Naruto. He'd seen Jason freaking fly for crying out loud. Granted it ended up with him stuck in a tree, but it was still in his top ten coolest things he had ever seen.

Anyways, the water churned and rose to surround the dingy looking boat. Tendrils of water wrapped around the ship, and gripped the boat.

To everyone's surprise, the boat was pulled under water.

" **WHAT!** "

Just as Hazel was ready to tear into Percy, Frank wasn't about to stop her either, out of the water rose the boat, but it didn't look the same.

Where once dust and rust and dirt was, was now pristine and only slightly damp. The torn sails were somehow sewn together with no evidence of their sewing. Chipped wood, and dull paint was refurbished and brought back to life with the symbol of camp shining proudly on the side of it.

Percy dropped his hand, and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I don't think it looks so bad now. Right, guys?"

.

.

.

.

.

Jason scratched the back of head, as he stood on the Argo II as it travelled on to the other camp. He'd be lying if he said that he was wary of it all. Who knows what he could be forgetting. They would probably expect something from hi, or for him to know certain things that he just didn't. Maybe he was someone important to them? He was a son of Jupiter, so it was a possibility.

He sighed as he leaned over the side of the Argo, and let the gentle winds wash over him, easing his worries. He closed his eyes and embraced the winds.

"Hey," He heard someone say to his left.

He smiled a cracked open his eyes. He turned to her, and opened his arms up for her. She stepped into his embrace, him behind her with his chin on her shoulder, as they intertwined their hands on her stomach. He took a deep breath in of her, and let it out happily.

"So what's on your mind, Jason?" She asked him with that sweet melodious voice of hers.

He smirked, "What makes you think that I had something on my mind?"

She rolled her colorful eyes at him and tilter her head back to look at him, "I know because you looked like you smelled something bad."

Jason alarmingly looked her in the face, "That's not how I actually look when I'm thinking, is it?"

She smiled and giggled at his question, but she didn't answer. She just patted his cheek and turned back around.

Jason relaxed once more, he was sure that wasn't how he looked, and melded with his girlfriend. At the moment he forgot all about his worries. He let himself become lost in the warmth of their embrace. He kissed her chocolate cheek, and he can see her raised eyebrow in a questioning manner.

"That was a thank you for being here to take my mind off of what's coming up. If it wasn't for you and the others, I'm pretty sure I would've pulled my hair out already," He told her.

She blushed cutely, but didn't say a thing. She just turned around in his arms, and placed a kiss on his lips. He quickly kissed her back, and relished in the pure happiness she just seemed to bring him.

Unbeknownst to him, in the very camp that he was headed to, a girl felt the sudden urge to impale something onto her spear.

Huh…weird.


	12. Chapter 12: Amazon or Amazons?

Sorry it took so long, school has got me busy so much. I will try my best to get the next chapter out, as it is way more exciting than this on was by far. I hope this one isn't awful.

LaxyKid24- Thank you for the well wishes, and I am sorry you could not find a hold in this fic.

radeklegia- Ha! Just you wait. I got things in store.

DocSlendy- (look at comment above)

Harry Morgan Le Fay- Hmm, interesting thing that you noticed here. I can only fault myself for making it seem that way to their being so many characters in this series. I wouldn't call him a third wheel or Reyna weak, just haven't had the chance to show Reyna's strength off that much.

AlphaScribe- No problem. Here's another one

.9- Here is the new chapter...only took a few months...sorry.

Sniperbeattie- New chapter coming at ya.

Nine tails of darkness flame- Hiruzen has been through his fair share of conflict, and has the power to change landscapes at will. He has lived as long as he has because he is good at what he does, and that is kicking ass and taking names. Nobody, god or otherwise, can intimidate him, especially when they may pose a threat to something he holds dear. And Reyna is no one's sloppy seconds or rebound, but I can neither confirm nor deny that he will get together with her. Just gotta wait and see.

* * *

 _Seven half-bloods shall answer the call._

 _To storm or fire the world must fall._

 _An oath to keep with a final breath,_

 _And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death…._

 _The Seven shall journey to the land barred to the Gods,_

 _To reveal a prophet as a fraud._

 _The chosen half-bloods are to stand tall,_

 _And help the ascension or be the reason it falls…_

 _._

 _._

 _._

Naruto had a really bad feeling churning inside his guts. This quest was already turning out to be unlike any other quest he had been on before, and not in the good way.

First, Hazel got dragged away by 'living cereal', her words exactly, who coincidentally led us to see the army that was marching to Camp led by yet another one of Gaia's children, Polyblotes, met Isis the pacifist rainbow goddess, Frank's spear can apparently spit out a super skeleton, and now they were on their way to find the seer Phineas in Portland being pulled by a whale…

A. WHALE.

From there everything settled down as they traveled. Frank and Hazel had elected, at the same time, to watch first while he and Percy rested a bit. He still didn't know what Percy dreamed about, but when he woke up, he looked shook. Like his mind was firing on all cylinders to interpret what he dreamed about. How he knew this? Well, he was feeling the exact same way after what he had experienced.

 _Flashback_

 _In his dream he was fighting a cloaked man wearing an orange mask with flames that had a single eye hole. There were chains dangling out of his sleeves, and Naruto could feel the smugness wafting off of the man. His senses stretched outward, and he held in the flinch at the oppressive, hate filled waves that washed over him. They were so heavy, so evil. Almost unstoppable!_

 _But no, something inside him steeled itself, and he knew that he had to stop it. He had an entire village of people counting on him. He had his beautiful wife counting on him. He had his son counting on him._

 _He had to go through the cause of this horrible night first. His brain calculated the amount of chakra he had left, and came to the conclusion that he couldn't waste anymore with this guy if he wanted to save his village._

 _He had to finish this here and now._

 _With the speed that gave him his namesake, he rushed the man responsible for already so many lives lost. His brow set itself. He needed to time this perfectly._

 _With a quick flick of his wrist, he threw his special kunai at the man, knowing that, in his arrogance in his unique technique, he would not even try to dodge his kunai. With the kunai thrown, he pushed some energy into his hand where his personal technique began to grow_

 _He knew it wasn't anywhere close to being done, having tested it many times, but the damage it did was still more devastating than a_ ** _Ō_** ** _dama Rasengan_** _, but it was half the size._

 _He got closer, and closer to the masked man, the_ _ **Rasengan**_ _grew. Rotation. Power. Containment. Rotation. Power. Containment. Rotation! Power! Containment! The ball of destruction grew and grew, until he was satisfied with it. Then, with razor sharp focus, he let in the wind chakra and the luminous blue sphere turned a shade of green with his ears could literally hear the blades of wind making their way through the pure devastation in his palm. It wasn't the final product, but it would have to do here._

 _Under his feet he felt the earth shift a bit more from the pure raw power being thrown around in his home. The place he was tasked to protect to his last breath. He knew good men and women were dying trying to protect the citizens and their home as well. He wasn't the best senor, but even he picked up the titanic energy levels of Sarutobi flaring wildly along with several noticeable others that he knew, but they still were dwarfed by the angry malice filled chakra the Kyuubi was exuding. He needed to be there with them on the battlefield, and stop the rampage. They wouldn't be able to hold out for that much longer._

 _He focused in on his kunai, watching it as the cloaked man's body completely ignored the projectile and warped straight through it. His mind slowed everything down for a moment. The masked man's hands rushed out at him from under the sleeves of his cloak, chains clinking along. Just as his kunai travelled the whole way to the other side of the masked man, he felt for the seal on the handle, found it, and did what he grew infamous for. In a yellow flash he was above the masked man's exposed back. Grabbing the kunai around the hilt, he turned his body downward, and shoved the_ _ **Wind Style: Rasengan,**_ _right into the exposed back of the cloaked man._

 _The results were terrifying._

 _The man's body folded inward from the sheer force of the technique, and was throttled into the ground demolishing the earth beneath him, creating a large crater. The explosion of pure wind chakra pulverized everything below it, as the contained chakra was let loose in an awesome fashion. The chakra grew brighter and bright as it became harder and harder to contain until everything became white._

 _Slowly the white receded from his vision. Now he was in a clearing covered with snow, and surrounding by thick trees that reached into the sky. He looked around: down at the snow, up into the air, through the trees the he was surrounded by._

 _With no warning, from out of the shadows between the trees multiple golden projectiles rushed out at incomprehensible speeds! On instinct his mind told his body to move, but his body wouldn't move! The glittering metal links flew at him and began wrapping his body up in a glowing cocoon. He grit his teeth, and looked down at the golden…chains? The chains wrapped and wrapped around him until he had no hope of moving anything but his head and neck, but strangely, he felt no fear. No panic._

 _He felt kind of warm actually, not the chilling cold the usually came with touching chains._

 _The sound of snow crunching beneath feet brought his mind from memory lane and back into the present. He readied himself for some kind of monster, or other heinous looking creature, but from the darkness walked a woman._

 _The first thing he noticed was the blood red hair that reminded him of his own right down to the length it was. Her red hair was held in a high ponytail that looked like it ended mid back with two long bangs that dropped down either side of her face, and she wore a blue head band with a metal plate on it wrapped around her forehead with some sort of symbol on it. She had a roundish face that came into a pointed chin. Her skin was fair, she had violet eyes, and again he was reminded of his own colored eyes while looking at hers._

 _She was slender, but these chains told a different story. She was wearing a forest green jacket over a black short-sleeved shirt with black form fitting pants that ran all the way down to her calves. On her feet she wore blue sandals on her feet, and wrapped with bandages around her thigh was a bag holding gods know what. As she got closer to him he could also notice a blue and red hilt peeking over her shoulder with a wooden knob on the end, and coming out of her back were the chains._

 _He quickly followed the chains with his eyes to confirm it, and, yup, the damn chains were coming from her._

 _Being tied up, Naruto felt his body rise and move forward towards the woman. They seemed to meet halfway, and Naruto was close enough that he could see the fog from her breath._

 _She reached out an open hand, and Naruto prepared for an attack of some sort, but all she did was put her warm hand on his cheek in a tender fashion. He looked up into her eyes, and saw not hostility, but warmth._

 _Oh you look so much like me, I knew our Uzumaki blood was too strong, she said. You are on a dangerous quest right now, and it will only get harder. Once you get to Alaska, I will be waiting for you, Naruto. I hope you meet my expectations_

 _End Flashback_

* * *

He woke to drab depressing weather, as they pulled into Seattle to find Phineas. They found the pudgy blind man, and Naruto almost choked on how old he actually smelled. After talking to the blind man, and getting his and Percy's eye almost poked in, they cut a deal with him. Get a particular harpy, and he'd tell them what they needed to know. Easy right?

Wrong. Oh so wrong.

Somehow the harpy they were supposed to capture and present to him was odd, even by his standards. Not only was she being bullied by the other harpies, he dang near killed one for that, but she had photographic memory. As in she remembered every. Single. Thing. That she had ever read. Granted she did spout out random things, but it just proved her genius and photographic memory.

So, as a group, they decided that, instead of listening to the old geezer, they were going to save Ella, which was her name, by gambling with him.

Perfect. Phineas was just one of many to learn the hard way to never bet against Naruto Uzumaki…granted he did cheat a little, but hey, all is fair in poison and war right?

…was that not how that line went?

Watching the smug, old blind seer Phineas crumble into nothing but dust, leaving behind his dirty robes and slippers after he chose the wrong vial was somewhat satisfying, and he could tell that it was the same for the others even though they wouldn't say it. Percy drank the vial, the right one, and that was that. Percy did look oddly shaken after the experience though. Probably because it tasted awful.

After that episode, they got back on the boat, location of Alyconeus's fortress in hand, and Ella the harpy as a companion, and sailed to Seattle, but not without a little hiccup. Yet again, Hazel went and passed out again, but this time, Frank went with her. Him and Percy were ready to shake them awake, but Ella stopped them short with her repeating of, "Sharing. Sharing is good.", and blocking of their attempts to check them out. He was sure Frank hit his head pretty hard.

So, they left them to 'share'. It also gave Naruto an excuse to talk to Percy about what was going to happen next.

"Percy," he called to grab his attention.

Percy took his eyes off of his two friends' unconscious bodies, and looked at Naruto. Percy wondered in a small part of his mind if his hair and eye color were genuine. Putting that off until they weren't on a quest that could mean the life and death of hundreds maybe thousands of people, Percy raised an eye brow prompting Naruto to continue.

"Once we get to Seattle, let me speak to the Amazons. I promised Reyna that I would at least try, and I never go back on my promises," He told Percy and showed him the silver ring around his finger. "Reyna's sister is there. She told me to show her this ring when I found her."

"Reyna has a sister?" Percy asked. He thought she was an only child like he was since there were no other children of Bellona that he had seen.

"Yeah, but if she is anything like Reyna is, then we should be careful. The Amazons hold a reputation that even mortals know about. I don't know how they will react to us since we are demigods, but be ready for anything," Naruto said.

Percy nodded his head in agreement, and refocused on steering the ship when Naruto said nothing else and went back to staring out at the water while fingering the ring he had around his digit. Hazel and Frank were still out of it, and the sun looked to be on its way down.

An idea struck him. He looked back to Naruto and asked, "Hey, Naruto, how did you and Reyna become friends?" He was honestly curious.

Naruto looked at Percy and smiled wide before answering, "Well, it wasn't easy. I'll tell you that…"

* * *

It was the next day, and Naruto looked out and could see buildings in the distance. He clapped his hands together to get his blood pumping. All this sitting around wasn't for him.

"I'll get Hazel and Frank up since we're almost there," He volunteered.

Naruto went over to Hazel first, and shook her awake. Lucky enough, it worked, and she began to stir almost immediately.

As she was getting up, Naruto went over to Frank and did the same thing to him, but a little bit more forcibly. In no time they both were getting their bearings, and ridding themselves of the last of the grogginess that they both felt.

"We've reached Seattle you two, so get up," he told them, but they didn't look like they heard him. Instead they looked at each other confusedly.

Frank rubbed his eyes, "Did we just…was I just…but how-?"

"You both passed out," Naruto told them. "We, Percy and I, tried to wake you up initially, but Ella stopped us. Said something about you two sharing. Care to share?" He asked with a raised brow at the two of them.

Ella swooped down from her perch to land on the railing besides them. She crouched down and preened herself, like most birds did, but to Naruto it looked very odd considering she wasn't full bird. "No more blackouts. August 14, 2003, biggest American blackout. Hazel shared. No more blackouts."

Naruto ran a hand through his hair and sighed." Yeah, I have no idea what she is talking about, and she has been going on like this all night. Just ask Percy."

Again, they both seemed to ignore what he just said, as Hazel turned to Frank and regarded him with a bewildered look as her hand went to her side, feeling for something he guessed. His brow twitched at being ignored for a second time. He felt the boat come to a stop. Percy must've been done docking the boat. It was time to start looking for Reyna's sister, and by proxy, the Amazons themselves. He sighed to himself as he turned away from the Hazel and Frank, they looked to be sharing a moment anyways if the look in their eyes were anything to go by, and went to grab his stuff. Maybe he should think positively this time around. I mean, how hard could it be to find a tribe of female warriors in the city of Seattle of all places?

* * *

"Oh, now it can't be this easy?" He wondered aloud to himself as he stared up at the building in front of them.

Percy stepped up to him and smiled as he crumbled the wrapper of the caramel chocolate he just finished that they got from this candy store and threw it away in the trashcan to his left. It was pretty good, but he felt as if he had tried something better than it before. "C'mon Naruto. This should be a good thing, right? We are on a time limit," he said.

"Uhm, guys," Frank said from Naruto's left, "This is a modern thing, you know that right? They're a company. They sell stuff on the internet. I don't think female warriors fit that mold."

They all took a moment to stand outside the brick and glass office building which had the words AMAZON etched on the glass of their front doors. They had been searching for a few hours, but, to Naruto, it felt a little too easy to him. His instincts were telling him something were up, and they were hardly ever wrong.

Percy shrugged his shoulders, "Only one way to find out then," he said and walked through the doors. Naruto had a bad feeling about this place, but followed Percy in anyways, but kept his senses open for anything out of the ordinary.

The quartet stepped inside of the nice office like building. There was a fish tank on the back wall, Naruto noticed there were no fish in it which was odd, and next to that was a stone staircase that led up and down. In the middle of room stood a tall dark skinned young woman in a dark green pantsuit with matching open toed heels on her feet. Her auburn hair was long and wavy with her bangs going parted to the left side of her face. As they got closer, Naruto saw her name tag said Kinzie, which must've been her name. She saw them walking in, and she smiled in a friendly manner that Naruto had to admit look genuine enough. What gave her away was the spike of negative emotion he felt come off of her as her eyes skimmed over him, Percy, and Frank. Instead of doing the same to Hazel, she was where they focused on.

Kinzie nodded at Hazel, ignoring him and the other male member of their group and asked, "May I help you?"

Naruto felt his irritation rise. What was with everyone ignoring him today?

Hazel spared a quick nervous glance at them before answering, "Uh…hopefully? We're looking for Amazons."

Naruto saw her eyes quickly dart over their weapons they held, from Hazel's sword to Frank's spear, which should've been hidden by the mist from mortals. He narrowed his eyes at her, unseen due to her paying attention to Hazel and pointedly ignoring anyone in the room of the male gender.

"This is the main campus for Amazon, yes," she told her slowly, cautiously. "Did you have an appointment with someone her, or-"

Percy stepped up, interrupting her, and said, "We're looking for-"

Naruto had to give it to her, she moved fast. _Really_ fast.

Kinzie lashed out with a straight kick that connected with Frank's chest and sent him flying back towards the front door. With the same leg, she pulled it back, twirled, and swept Percy's legs out from under him knocking him down onto the hard floor. She pulled a sword out of nowhere, twirled it around, and swung at Naruto's head with the handle.

Her swing was stopped cold, as he gripped her wrist and stopped it. She was fast, but he had seen faster.

The, now apparent, Amazon, recovered quickly, and kicked at his knee. He blocked her kick with his leg, and raised his arm in time to block the follow up roundhouse to his head. Kinzie yelled and threw furious and swift jabs at his face that forced him to let go of her wrist in order to block them all. He disengaged, and set himself to defend.

In a heartbeat, the girl was upon him with a yell, swinging her sword, blade first this time, down at his head. He swayed his body to the left, dodging the quick downward swing, and swayed back to dodge the follow up attack. Quick as a bullet, Naruto dashed into her guard before she had time to pull her arm back to defend leaving her at the disadvantage. He threw a swift left hook then right cross that connected with force, but to his surprise, Kinzie powered right through his punches and head-butted him right in the nose. It connected with the force of a hammer that left him dazed. His instincts screamed at him to dodge, and he listened. He ducked the swipe with the sword at his head, and rose with a right uppercut that she was forced to lean back to avoid. He then threw a quick left jab at her head that she dodged. She slapped down his extended arm, throwing him off balance, and kicked the inside of his knee with her heeled foot. Balance now thrown off, she folded her arm and threw an elbow into his chest. Luckily his armor staved off the worst of it, but it still hurt enough.

Naruto wasn't one to stay on the defensive for long, and with quick thinking he hooked his leg behind one of hers, and tripped her making her fall onto her back. Quickly he took the advantage, and got on top of her, and began raining blow after blow into her guard.

He felt her hands grab onto his arm after one of his punches, and wrap it tight to the point he couldn't pull it back. She pulled him down and elbowed him onto the top of the head a couple times. He felt her legs wrap themselves around his head and neck, and began to squeeze. She was trying to choke him out.

With his free hand he pounded on her ribs with punches, but choke hold via legs was unrelenting, and the force was only increasing. He grabbed onto his hand with his free one, and staggered up onto one leg.

"AGH!" He yelled as pulled her up into the air with him as he stood up.

If she wanted to handle this the hard way, then he was going to handle it the hard way.

Now standing up, he spotted the fish tank on the back wall through his darkening vision. He ran to it, putting Kinzie in front of him. He felt her tighten her legs, constricting the air to his lungs and increasing the pressure on his skull even more.

 **SMASH!**

They collided into the fish tank with the sound of glass breaking and water rushing out of the now huge hole in the tank. The impact shocked her enough to allow Naruto to get free, and he did. He staggered back, gulping down air in an effort to refill his lungs. Getting suffocated was not pleasant at all.

"Uh…Naruto?" He heard from behind him. Naruto suddenly remembered about his partners on this quest, and turned around to check on them.

He turned right into a fist.

"OW! Ah, shit that hurt!" He yelled out in pain as his hands flew up to his nose. There was now an even worse dull throbbing in his nose. He opened his watering eyes to get a look at the jackass who just decided to punch him in the nose like that, and his eyes widened in shock.

His hands slowly came away from his nose, (was that blood dribbling down onto his lips), and he put them in the air. Why? Well, there were 7 young women decked out in armor with shields, spears, and swords, all pointed at either him or his companions.

He chuckled nervously as sweat dribbled down the side of his face. "Ehehe, sorry about the fish tank?"

In a few tense moments, their extracting their fellow Amazon from the fish tank was funny to him but he could assume that laughing would get him skewered by the auburn haired Kinzie who looked like she wanted him to spontaneously combust into a ball of flames with the way she was glared at him.

The effect was kind of lost on him though due to the bruises she had on her face and her damp hair. Plus, he had experienced worse from Reyna. Ah, Reyna. Now, that reminded him of their original purpose here.

"I'm telling you, we didn't mean to trespass or break your fish tank. We just came here to talk to Hylla," He said trying to reason with her. One of the girls poked him in the back with her spear, but he just rolled his eyes at her attempt to get him to be quiet as they kept walking down and down and more down the stairs.

The one in the lead, Kinzie, didn't answer him. He knew she was ignoring him. Apparently they didn't respond to males, only females. Why? Because all males were inferior according to them.

In what seemed like forever, and so many stairs, they finally emerged into a huge cavern so big that Naruto had to crane his neck all the way back just to see the top. It was like one of those factories with the conveyer belts winding around with items rolling across them. There were mechanical cranes and other machines helping along with the process, as things clanked in and out of their place only to move somewhere else.

They continued to walk on forever and ever, and Naruto chanced a glance back at his companions to see how they were faring with all of the walking.

About as good as he was.

"The Underworld isn't even this big," Naruto heard Hazel mutter in exasperation.

Apparently Kinzie heard her as well, minus the exasperation.

"Ah, yes, you admire our base of operation," she said as she stopped them. She breathed in deeply and smiled wide at Hazel…ignoring the males…again. "We are worldwide. It took many years to build it up to what it is now, and cost us most of fortune. Now though, we're finally turning a profit, and what a profit it is going to be. Soon, we'll be richer than any mortal nation. Then, when we are at our peak and the mortal cannot hope to to contest us, then we will begin the revolution!" She finished excitedly.

Frank rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Oh yea, and what are you going to do? Cancel free shipping?"

The guard next to him heard him, and slammed the hilt of her sword into his gut. Naruto saw this and moved to help Frank up, but the other guard pushed him back at sword and spear point. He looked and saw Percy in the same position, but, alas, not Hazel. Like, really? What's a guy gotta do to not get a pointy thing pointed at him? Not be a guy probably.

"You will learn respect," Kinzie hissed out at the downed and groaning in pain Frank. "It is idiotic males like you that have ruined the mortal world. Only women, who are smarter, more harmonious,-"

"More humble too I'm guessing," Naruto said. The guard tried to hit him, but he swayed and ducked under the blow. To everyone's surprise, it was Kinzie who held a hand up to stop them from all taking a crack at him with their weapons.

Kinzie pushed her bangs out of her face and scowled at him. Naruto smiled back at her heated glare. "You have to be the worst of the worst. You must not be the brightest of your little group. I do hope Queen Hylla puts you in a collar to show you your true place." She growled out at him and stepped up to get in his face.

Naruto smiled even wider, showing off his canines, "You are so lucky that you had your friends here to stop me. How did that fish tank water taste?" He asked innocently.

Kinzie raised her hand to slap Naruto, but Hazel stepped between them.

"Stop it!" She said. "Hylla is going to be the ont judge us, right?" Kinzie nodded. "So take us to her. All we're doing here is wasting time."

Kinzie lowered her hand and nodded. "You are right. We have more important problems, and time…time is definitely an issue."

A guard, a broad shouldered one who was even taller than Kinzie, grunted out, "We could take them straight to Otrera. We could possibly win her favor that way."

"No!" Kinzie all but snarled at the guards to Naruto's surprise. Who was this Otrera? Oh, there goes that feeling again. "Hylla is queen, and that is where we will be taking them." She said with a tone that left no argument. She turned around curtly and began walking again with them following after her slowly.

Naruto's ears twitched as he heard one of the guard mutter low under breath, "Not for long."

They continued on for a while, crossing through forklift traffic, ducking and maneuvering around conveyor belts, and avoiding mechanical arms as they went about their programmed business.

Finally they entered a smaller room that look like a weird combination of a throne room, the guards, the door, and a loading area, the forklifts, the shelves stocked with…animals? Notjust normal animals either, but giant eagles, black mastiffs, and was that a gryphon?!

At the end of the room at the throne, if it could be called that. It was constructed of a bunch of books, and as they got closer he could say that they were all the same book called, 101 Tips for Highly Aggressive Women.

What a weird book.

At the base of the book throne, several women, Amazons, in camouflage were arguing while who Naruto could assume was Queen Hylla, Reyna's sister, sat in her throne and listened to the crowd of bickering Amazons.

Hylla was in her twenties, clearly, and she was lithe and lean like a tiger almost. She wore an all-black leather jumpsuit, with matching dark grey gauntlets and boots that went to the bottom of her knee. She wore no crown, but instead, along with a holster that was strapped around her waist holding a dagger, wore a golden belt of interlocking links. Naruto could definitely see the resemblance her and Reyna shared. She looked just like Reyna, but older. He couldn't describe it any better than that.

Kinzie made a sound of distaste as she saw the Amazons who were arguing.

Suddenly their group stopped abruptly due to Hazel. They all looked at her, and saw that she was staring at something. They all looked to see what caught her attention, and saw a horse. Not a winged horse, just a regular one. Naruto saw powerful muscles flex underneath his almost golden coat. The horse whipped around his dark mane of hair, and Naruto could swear that the stallion was looking right at Hazel.

Weird.

He only paid attention with half an ear to what Kinzie was talking about regarding the horse, something about Hazel wondering if he was for sale, and then learning that he wasn't because of how difficult he was to handle. The group started back on their way to the queen, and Naruto saw her eyes lock onto them for a moment, before going back to the arguing group in front of her.

She barked, "Enough!"

The bickering Amazons shut up immediately, and the queen waved them aside and beckoned Kinzie forward.

The guards pushed them up, and Kinzie shoved him in particular. He was going to get her back for that.

Kinzie spoke up, "My queen, these demigods here wi-"

The queen stood up, motioning for Kinzie to be quiet. She strode down from her throne, and down to the four of them. She got down to them, and unsheathed her dagger from her waist. She walked in front of them each, dagger skittering dangerously close to their throats before she ended at Percy.

"Now tell me, Percy Jackson, why I should even listen _you_? You, the reason why I and my sister had to struggle like we did? You and that blonde haired wench have caused me nothing but problems, so humor me before I decide to have you and your friends collared and put to work," she ended with a threat as she pressed her dagger to his neck.

Percy, eyes wide, pointed at him very quickly and rapidly. Queen Hylla turned her hard, molten glare onto him, thanks a lot Percy, and he tried his best not to sweat. Was this how Reyna's glare was gonna turn in a few years? If so, then he wanted to be on the receiving end as little as possible.

She walked in front of him, dagger pointed, and Naruto spoke up before she could say any more threatening phrases. Time to use all of those diplomacy skills that Reyna drilled into his skull.

"We're here because we need your help, Hylla," He told her calmly despite his instincts telling him to get that dagger away from his throat.

She scowled even deeper, "Who are you to address me with such familiarity?"

Naruto held up his hand with the ring on it, "I know your sister, and she sent us to seek you out. If not for us, then for her."

The queen's eyes widened a bit, and Naruto heard the tiny gasp escape her from how close they were. The color drained from her face and it took her a moment to collect herself. It was quick, but Naruto noticed it. Her eyes hardened and she frowned. To him she looked even madder than before, but she sheathed her dagger, which was a good sign?

"Explain this," Her glare turned even harder, and Naruto felt a shiver go down his spine. "Now."

And so he did.

.

.

.

.

.

A man sat at the top of his tower, uncaring of the pouring rain that fell down on top of his orange hair. The water dribbled down the many piercings he had in his face as he stoically gazed across the horizon. He could care less about the rain that never seemed to end here. No, he had bigger things to worry about.

Whether it liked it or not, this world was going to change. It was going to change as he declared it to, for he, he was the ultimate power. He was the judge, jury, and executioner. He had this power, this terrible power at his fingertips, and he was going to use it. He was going to force this world to see the error of their ways. He would show them the light when the world was shrouded in nothing but darkness.

He would show them _pain_.

His purple ringed eyes gazed impassively through the rain. He stood up, his all black cloak with red clouds dripping wet, and turned around as he sensed the presence of his most trusted ally. It was time to seal away their most recent capture.

He would show them pain, and then and only then would this world know true peace.

He would make sure of it…


	13. Chapter 13: Hi Mom

Okay, so im late. Really late. I know. But I was stuck with school and the like and was hit with a major block on how to continue with this before I read a fic and realized that if it's not that different from how it went down in canon, I don't really need to mention it. As you all know how it went down since I am assuming you read the books, I don't need to like repeat it all. So, that gave me what I needed to do this. Bless up. Any who, I want to get on with this book and move onto the juicier bits of it all and etc. I know you guys want to see all the great drama unfold and the pairings come into existence. Some may be how they were originally others may not, you just gotta wait and see.

*Everything that is skipped basically happened the same exact way as it did in the book. Don't ask how they all fit on Arion, they just did, rather uncomfortably and lets leave it at that.

* * *

Naruto told her everything that he could. He described Camp Jupiter. He told them all about Reyna being Praetor and how she got the position through her hard work and dedication. He told Hylla about the massive army marching south towards the camp, and he told her about the quest they were on. He told her about how they had to free Thanatos in Alaska to make sure the dead stayed that way.

As he was talking, out of the corner of his eye he noticed another group come into the room led by a taller, older Amazon, silver hair was an old person trait, who wore silk robes. As she came deeper into the room, the other Amazons made way for her, a show of respect that confused Naruto. Amazons didn't seem like the type to show respect to just anybody, so that raised the question as to who this woman was? And why were she and Hylla glaring daggers at each other.

"…and that's why we are here," he said. "We-Reyna needs your help." He took the ring off of his finger and put it into her hand, "Now more than ever."

Hylla stared at the ring that was now in her hand, and made a tight fist around it. "Reyna…that foolish girl-"

"Oh my!" the older woman interrupted. All heads that weren't already turned to her as she began to speak. "Not only are you talking to this… _male_ as if he was your equal, but he is also Roman and needs our help?" She laughed prompting the other Amazons around her to join in as if it was the funniest thing in the world, and Naruto felt his dislike for this women increase.

"How many times did we do battle with the Romans in my day?" the lady asked as she began to walk around their group. "How many times have they _killed_ our sisters in battle? When I was queen they wouldn't dare-"

"Otrera," Hylla interrupted, "do I need remind you that you are here as a guest? You are not queen anymore."

The old lady, Otrera, held up her hands in a gesture of surrender and mockingly bowed. "As you say _my queen-_ at least until tonight. But I speak naught, but the truth, Queen Hylla," She sneered. "I've been brought back by the Earth Mother herself! I bring tidings of new war! Why should we Amazons follow Jupiter, that foolish ignorant king of Olympus, when we can follow a more righteous queen? When I take command-"

" _If_ you take command," Hylla said cutting the lady short. "As of now, I am queen. My word is law and you will listen."

Otrera stopped her pacing around the group and stared Hylla right in the face. She clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes in obvious signs of anger.

"I see." Otrera looked around at the group of assembled Amazons that stood very still at the moment. "Have we become so weak to listen to male demigods? Will you next allow them to tell you what to do? Allow this unruly son of Vulcan to once again act against one of our sister's? Perhaps, encourage him to do it?"

Hylla gave Otrera an icy stare. "Once I have all of the facts, then I will pass judgment. Not before. That is how I rule, by reason, not fear. I will talk with their female warrior first before I decided anything, as is my duty as Queen. As is the Amazon way. Or has your memory become muddled in your years of being in the Underworld?"

Hylla's response received a sneer, but the older woman did not try to argue.

Hylla turned to Kinzie, "Take the males to the holding cells."

Kinzie snapped of a sharp nod, and, with a few other Amazons, they restrained him, Percy, and Frank. They took them away and out of the room. The last thing Naruto heard was Hylla dismissing everyone else from the room.

They were quickly placed in cells, and had nothing else to do. So, they waited with baited breath. It was up to Hazel now.

It wasn't that long before Naruto saw Hazel being escorted back by Kinzie to the cages he, Percy, and Frank were being held in. By the looks of it, he guessed that whatever conversation she had had with Reyna's sister, didn't help them out that much. Suddenly, Hazel collapsed to her knees, seemingly in pain or, Naruto heard a tiny gasp escape Frank's mouth, and one of the guards that were guarding them stepped up to pick her up. Hazel went limp in the guards grasp, and the guard called over for her friend to help her.

Suddenly, just as the other guard made it over, jewelry exploded all over the catwalk like a tidal wave of silver bracelets. The glittering crazy amount of bracelets moved under Hazel's power and swept up the two guards and left them hanging by their ankles to the bottom of the catwalk screaming. The boys looked on in surprise as Hazel broke her restraints, made the last guard run away in fear, and got the key cards that unlocked their cages. She swiped the cards and the doors popped open.

Frank stared at her with a sense of astonishment, "By the gods. Hazel, that was amazing."

Percy nodded along with Frank. "Yea, I'll never wear jewelry again."

Naruto leaned over the ledge to look at the two Amazons suspended by their ankles and whistled in amazement. "When do you think they'll fall?"

Hazel shrugged her shoulders and tossed him Reyna's ring. "I have no idea and I don't think we should wait around to find out. Our weapons and stuff are at the end of the catwalk. We need to hurry because pretty soon-"

Loud alarms began blaring throughout the cavern.

They all locked eyes and as one began moving with Hazel in the lead. Quickly they got their stuff with Hazel having to drown groups of Amazons in waterfalls of gold and silver. When they got off of the catwalk and onto ground, it was like a jewelry god decided to throw up and trap every Amazon in necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.

They paused to take in the sight, because this was something you for sure didn't see every day, and it was Frank that summed it up.

"Hazel…You are freaking incredible," he breathed out as an Amazon wriggled with just her feet in the air in a pile next to them.

As one the group escaped, barely, their harsh Amazonian pursuers but only with the help of the lightning, probably faster than lightning, fast horse that took a liking to Hazel and Percy. From there on their journey continued.

(Timeskip)*

Naruto knew they reached their destination by the giant glacier that laid before them. The air turned icy and Naruto felt a foreboding feeling come onto him.

" **Be wary in this place, Naruto. This place feels void, like a blank spot on a usual canvas of color. It is true what they say that Gods hold no power here,"** Naruto heard echo through his head.

He squinted through the wind that billowed by his face and though, if the Gods don't hold power here, I can guess who does.

They started walking and trotting, Hazel was on her horse, toward the icy graveyard that looked like it used to be Roman camp that Naruto thought looked a little too similar to Camp Jupiter. Naruto felt a chill run down his spine as he heard the wind wail as they walked through the ghastly snow covered area. He clenched his fist and channeled some of his godly energy, heating up his body and the area around him.

All around there were no signs of life, natural or otherwise. The walls of the camp like area stood covered in a thick layer of frost and the icy ground crunched as they walked through the carpet of pure white snow that laid on the ground.

As they got closer and closer to the opened gates of the camp Naruto only saw the icy banners flap away in the wind. He could see straight down into the 'camp' and with his eyes, he could see a tall, dark-robed figure standing in chains.

Unprotected.

They all stopped at the gaping open gates.

Percy spoke up and said, "This has got to be a trap. No Giants no monsters as guards."

"Obviously," Frank responded, "but I don't think we have a choice."

Naruto nodded his head and banged his fists, covered with his gloves that were reinforced with armor so he could pack more of a punch, together and his tonfa came out in all their crimson and royal blue glory. He flicked them around and channeled chakra through them and with a glint of gold, their bladed edges came out as well. From beside him he saw Percy unsheathe his glittery bronze sword with a Greek inscription on it and hold it at the ready, and from behind him he heard Frank's bow thrum as he locked and loaded an arrow.

Arion neighed, and even Naruto could feel the unease in it, as Hazel urged him forward and led the way through the gates. The layout was so similar to Camp Jupiter. The barracks, baths, and armory were all an exact replica of camp, of his home, exceot much much bigger. It was like this one was built to house giants or something…

…oh yea.

They got within 10 feet of Thanatos's chained form. He had his head down, so his hood blackened his visage. Being this close to death was a feeling that Naruto couldn't describe but feel. He felt this heavy air all around him, and even in chains, Naruto could feel the deathly power emanating from Thanatos. He felt something from the chains as well. To be able to chain a god, they must have something to do with them, but what was the question.

The hooded Thanatos raised his head.

In a response, the whole camp stirred with life that was not there. The surrounding buildings burst open with Roman soldiers clattering out in old, dented armor, but they weren't human. They were pitch black, wispy boney figures that held old Pila and dented shields in their hands and had frost covered swords strapped to their waists. Ragged and frozen, the ancient dead Romans marched out on foot, but a pair of them burst out of the stables on a golden chariot pulled by ghostly black steeds that neighed unnaturally.

Arion stamped his feet in challenge and neighed back loudly at the horses.

Naruto grit his teeth and gripped his tonfa tight. They were surrounded.

Percy spun Anaklusmos in his hand, and felt the icy pull of the ocean in his gut as he readied for a fight. Around the glacier, the waters spurned to life at their master's emotions.

Frank gripped his bow tight and notched his arrow. "Yep, here's the trap."

The ghosts, Naruto felt a shiver crawl down his spine at the word, formed awkward ranks and encircled the crossroads cutting off any route of escape. If Naruto had to guess, he'd say that they numbered in the hundreds at least in total. That wasn't an entire legion, but it _was_ more than a cohort. Hanging from aged poles hung the tattered lightning bolt banners of the Twelfth Legion, Fifth Cohort that came up here in the 1980s. Others carried a mishmash of other banners, some Naruto couldn't recognize but they looked just as old as or even older than the banner of the Twelfth Legion.

At least now they know for sure what happened to Michael Varus's expedition.

"Thanatos!" Hazel turned to the robed figure. "We're here to rescue you. If you control these shades, tell them—"Her voice faltered. The god's hood fell away and his robes dropped off as he spread his wings, leaving him in only a sleeveless black tunic belted at the waist. His skin was dark and glistening like it had never even had an encounter with the word flaw. His eyes were a honey gold that lacked the usual warmth eyes of those color contain. He was lean and muscular, with a regal face and black hair flowing down his shoulders. His wings glimmered in shades of blue, black, and purple.

The god's wrists were shackled in icy manacles, with chains that ran straight into the glacier floor. His feet were bare, shackled around the ankles and also chained.

"It's Cupid," Frank said."A really buff Cupid," Percy agreed and Naruto nodded."You compliment me," Thanatos said. His voice was as gorgeous as he was—deep and melodious. "I am frequently mistaken for the god of love. Death has more in common with Love than you might imagine. But I am Death. I assure you.

""We're—we're here to save you," Hazel managed. "Where's Alcyoneus?"

"Save me…?" Thanatos narrowed his eyes. "Do you understand what you are saying, Hazel Levesque? Do you understand what that will mean?"

Percy stepped forward. "We're wasting time."He swung his sword at the god's chains. Celestial bronze rang against the ice, but Riptide stuck to the chain like glue. Frost began creeping up the blade. Percy pulled frantically. Frank and Naruto ran to help. Together, they just managed to yank Riptide free before the frost reached their hands.

"That won't work," Thanatos said simply. "As for the giant, he is close. These shades are not mine. They are his." Thanatos's eyes scanned the ghost soldiers. They shifted uncomfortably, as if an arctic wind were rattling through their ranks.

"So how do we get you out?" Hazel turned his attention back to her

. "Daughter of Pluto, child of my master, you of all people should not wish me released."

"Don't you think I know that?" Hazel's eyes stung, but she was done being afraid. She'd been a scared little girl seventy years ago. She'd lost her mother because she acted too late. Now she was a soldier of Rome. She wasn't going to fail again. She wasn't going to let down her friends."Listen, Death." She drew her cavalry sword, and Arion reared in defiance. "I didn't come back from the Underworld and travel thousands of miles to be told that I'm stupid for setting you free. If I die, I die. I'll fight this whole army if I have to. Just tell us how to break your chains."

"If you free me, I will do my duty. But of course these shades will try to stop you."

"So if we let you go," Percy summed up, "we get mobbed by a bunch of black vapor dudes with gold swords. Fine. How do we break those chains?"

Thanatos smiled. "Only the fire of life can melt the chains of death.""Without the riddles, please?" Percy asked

.Frank drew a shaky breath. "It isn't a riddle."

"Frank, no," Hazel said weakly. "There's got to be another way."

Viscious aughter boomed across the glacier. A rumbling voice said: "My friends. I've waited so long!"

Standing at the gates of the camp was Alcyoneus. He was even larger than the giant Polybotes they'd seen in California. He had metallic golden skin, armor made from platinum links, and an iron staff the size of a totem pole. His rust-red dragon legs pounded against the ice as he entered the camp. Precious stones glinted in his red braided had never seen him fully formed, but she knew him better than she knew her own parents. She had made him. For months, she had raised gold and gems from the earth to create this monster. She knew the diamonds he used for a heart. She knew the oil that ran in his veins instead of blood. More than anything, she wanted to destroy giant approached, grinning at her with his solid silver teeth.

"Ah, Hazel Levesque," he said, "you cost me dearly! If not for you, I would have risen decades ago, and this world would already be Gaea's. But no matter!"He spread his hands, showing off the ranks of ghostly soldiers. "Welcome, Percy Jackson! Welcome, Frank Zhang! I am Alcyoneus, the bane of Pluto, the new master of Death. And this is your new legion." The giant smiled, "And this one...my, my, I've been waiting to meet the famous Percy Jackson." The giant grinned.

His silver teeth made his mouth look like a car grille. "I've followed your progress, son of Neptune," said Alcyoneus. "Your fight with Kronos? Well done. Gaea hates you above all others…except perhaps for that upstart Jason Grace. I'm sorry I can't kill you right away, but my brother Polybotes wishes to keep you as a pet. He thinks it will be amusing when he destroys Neptune to have the god's favorite son on a leash. After that, of course, Gaea has plans for you."

"Yeah, flattering." Percy raised Riptide. "But actually I'm the son of Poseidon. I'm from Camp Half-Blood."

The ghosts stirred. Some drew swords and lifted shields. Alcyoneus raised his hand, gesturing for them to wait.

"Greek, Roman, it doesn't matter," the giant said easily. "We will crush both camps underfoot. You see, the Titans didn't think big enough. They planned to destroy the gods in their new home of America. We giants know better! To kill a weed, you must pull up its roots. Even now, while my forces destroy your little Roman camp, my brother Porphyrionis preparing for the real battle in the ancient lands! We will destroy the gods at their source."

The ghosts pounded their swords against their shields. The sound echoed across the mountains.

"The source?" Frank asked. "You mean Greece?"

Alcyoneus chuckled. "No need to worry about that, son of Mars. You won't live long enough to see our ultimate victory. I will replace Pluto as lord of the Underworld. I already have Death in my custody. With Hazel Levesque in my service, I will have all the riches under the earth as well!"

Hazel gripped her spatha. "I don't do service."

"Oh, but you gave me life!" Alcyoneus said. "True, we hoped to awaken Gaea during World War II. That would've been glorious. But really, the world is in almost as bad a shape now. Soon, your civilization will be wiped out. The Doors of Death will stand open. Those who serve us will never perish. Alive or dead, you three will join my army."

"Oi, golden boy, I think you're forgetting about me," Naruto called out to the giant.

Alcyoneus looked at him before frowning. "Oh, son of Vulcan. I am not your enemy on this day no matter how much I would want you in my army. Oh no, I won't be crushing you to my immense displeasure."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked warily.

"He means you will be fighting me…", a feminine voice said from behind them.

The group wheeled around and saw the ghostly spirits split down the middle to reveal a woman.

Naruto almost dropped his tonfa in utter shock. He knew this woman. This red-haired woman who was smiling at him from behind her long red bangs. He barely noticed the handle of some sort of weapon behind her back, and that made him try and recompose himself.

"Wh-who are you?" He asked her shakily, cursing his stutter inwardly.

" **She is supposed to dead,"** Kyuubi growled.

What do you mean? Naruto asked it.

" **I mean, that you are staring at my previous host, who is supposed to be dead you dunce!"** The Kyuubi growled. **"You are staring at Kushina Uzumaki."**

"My mom?" Naruto shuddered out.

The woman, Kushina, smiled as she heard that. "That's right. You're my Babyboy."

Suddenly her smile morphed into a frown and Naruto felt a spike of energy in the ground. A golden chain shot out of the ground and wrapped itself around his arm.

"It's a shame I'm going to have to kill you now," She said neutrally.

Before anyone could react, the woman made a pulling motion with her hand and the chain tightened and pulled Naruto into the air. Kushina threw her arm out backwards, and the thick chain links followed her motion perfectly. Naruto was whipped into air and shot backwards out of sight with a holler that slowly faded as he got further…and further…and further away.

Silence permeated the center as Kushina put a hand over her eyebrows and squinted into the direction she threw her son. She looked to Thanatos and cocked her eyebrow. "You think I threw him a little too hard?"

Death gave her flat look and didn't answer.

She smiled wide and nodded, "You're right. We Uzumaki's are made of sterner stuff so he'll be fine. Wouldn't want this to end too soon."

With that she made a few hand signs and disappeared in a tornado of leaves.

Naruto was flying in the air-no. Not flying.

More like floundering.

And yelling.

Oh yes, he was yelling at the top of his lungs.

He was yelling through the air as he uncontrollably zipped an unknown amount of distance. The scenery flashed past his eyes alluding to just how fast he was going, and oh was he zooming.

He didn't know how long he flew for, but he did know when his abrupt and certainly unplanned flight ended.

Painfully.

His back smashed against the harsh cold ground once, flipping him over, then twice, then three times, and then a fourth, before gravity decided to be merciful and allowed him to skid to a harsh stop with his face in the snow.

He groaned in pain and the feeling of nausea in his stomach, but nevertheless pushed himself up onto his feet. He staggered up, hands on his knees as he got his barings, and looked around only to be shocked once more.

She had threw him clean into the forests! He couldn't even see where he came from!

Damn, he thought and winced as he stretched out his back and felt the sharp pain shoot up from it. He clenched his fists, relieved to see that his tonfa had come back to him so quickly because he knows for sure that he dropped them when she whipped him into the air. His eyes quickly glanced around and saw that he was randomly all alone/ He took this slight moment of reprieve to think about what he had just found out.

Apparently that woman was his mother. He didn't want to believe it, but…she fit the bill from what his dad told him and showed him in the brief times they sat down and talked about it. The Kyuubi all but confirmed it as well. Now, the question is how she is here and how she is alive?

And why does she want to kill him?

He scowled as the answer came to him and he connected the dots instantly. The Doors of Death are open and in Gaea's control, so she brought his mother back from the dead and has her now under her control. This is all of Gaea's fault. She was the reason the first time he gets to see his own mother in the flesh is when she is trying to kill him!

That made him angry.

His attention was grabbed, and the anger he felt dissipated as the whirlwind of leaves died down and his mother appeared before him with the exact same smile he saw whenever he looked at his self in the mirror.

She stood there and his heart thumped painfully in his chest once before he remembered what she did.

She put a hand on her hip, "So, you didn't die from that. Good. I'd be severely disappointed in you _sochi_. _"_ Kushina took her hand off of her hip and reached for the weapon she had strapped to her back, and Naruto quickly bumped his fits together and reached for the godly energy inside of him. In a flash, he held his bladed tonfa and his skin took a reddish tint to it.

At the reveal of his weapons, Kushina took pause. She tilted her head in a curious manner, and before Naruto could even blink, she was in front of his face taking a closer look at them.

Shocked, he quickly jumped back and put a good amount of distance between him and his killer-yet-not-so-killer mother.

Kushina straightened up and had a bright smile on her face. "Oh, my precious son is taking after his father and me more and more." She sighed dreamily and clasped her hands to her chest. "You made one of your tonfa in memory of my home village. I would've preferred you take up the sword like your awesome mom, but, oh well," She scowled and crossed her arms and sighed. "Well, at least you don't use a hammer like your father uses when he was in his godly form."

Naruto was safe to say unnerved at her laidback behavior. Wasn't she supposed to be trying to kill him?

" **Idiot! You just jinx-,"** The Kyuubi started.

"Ah, what am I doing," She smacked herself on the forehead as punishment for her being carried away. "I just haven't seen you in so long Naruto, but where were we?" In one smooth movement she unsheathed her sword, a gleaming silver katana with a blue hilt and black grip, and held it at the ready in front of her.

Naruto held his tonfa up as steam rose from his skin and the snow around him started to melt at the heat that was introduced.

Kushina smirked at her son, "Show me what you can do, Naruto."

Naruto, thinking rapidly, decided to test the waters so to speak and try out something new that he had been working on. His dad being also attuned to fire, Naruto believed that he could coax that out and learn to use it as he willed.

Turns out he was right.

Like it was in slow motion, he cocked his right fist back and breathed in deep through his nose. The muscles in his arm bulged and he felt the godly energy run its way through his arm like molten lava. When it was all gathered in his fist…

…he fired.

Now, being as he had yet to master such a heavy application of his powers outside of just augmenting his own physical prowess, Naruto made a bit of mistake. He meant to create just around a basketball sized blast.

What came out of his fist was a not a basketball, but more like a wrecking ball. A fireball raced from his fist towards Kushina like a speeding bullet, and Naruto couldn't help but feel the twinge of worry that struck him.

That twinge was swiftly destroyed as his mother took a step forward, put the sword at her hip and slashed upwards **through** the fireball he fired at her. The katana split the righteous flames apart where the two halves sputtered to ember and sizzled on the cold ground.

A stray thought ran through his head after seeing that. She must be where he got his awesome from.

He shook it off and deciding to not do that again as he felt the drain it put on his reserves. With his tonfa up and at the ready, he charged.

His powerful legs propelled him forward in an instant, and he twirled his tonfa into an overhead strike. The powerful blow was stopped with ease, but Naruto wasn't done there. He dropped down, dodging the retaliation swing at his head, rose with a precise uppercut. His uppercut was dodged as Kushina leaned back. He followed up with a swift jab with his left hand that was blocked with her katana. Naruto had to quickly bring his right tonfa up to block the sudden overhead strike from Kushina, and found him self on the back foot as she peppered his overhead guard with lightning quick slashes.

Thinking quickly, Naruto sidestepped one of the overheads, leaving her over extended and off balance. Naruto took ruthless advanage of it. No matter of if she was her mother or not, it was drilled into him by Reyna, very painfully mind you, that against the enemy you always take the advantage when you can, and you take it with no mercy.

She demonstrated this by using the blunt end of her spear to hit him in the balls...several times... sometimes he felt as if she didn't have a nice bone in her body...nice to know he knew better.

Naruto shot his knee up into her gut, and The strike connected with the force of a cannnball. It knocked the air straight out of her like letitng the air go out of a ballon. He felt and saw her body fold acutely over his knee, and he felt a bit of stasfaction at the clean hit. He let his knee drop, and drew back his fists into each like, kind of like when you hold the handle of a sword or axe handle. He pulled back and rocketed them down to her exposed back...

...yet his hands didn't move.

He yanked with both of his arms, but only heard metallic jingling. Naruto looked up and cursed. His hands were bound together by those damn chains once more. The chains shot into the air with Naruto unwillingly following behind. They whipped up and down like when those people in the gym do those rope exercises, and they rocketed back down into the ground cratering Naruto into the icy earth.

Kushina hunched over and coughed a few times as she got her breath back from the heavy blow she took to her stomach. To be honest, she wasn't expecting him to have that much strength at his age. I mean, yes she was told she was abnormally strong and her husband was no slouch either, but jeez. She straightened up and rubbed her stomach a bit, feeling her upgraded healing factor kick in, and looked to the crater she put her son in.

She walked over to the lip of the Naruto sized crater and looked in to see her son get to his fit looking a little roughed up, but still roaring to go.

She smiled at him, "Oh, looks to me you are ready for some more," she beconed him closer with her katana," Come to your dear mother and get your shit kicked into a crater once more _sochi_."

Naruto scowled up at the red haired lady, and gritted his teeth. He had to do something about those chains, but damnit if they didn't seem impossible to get around.

He charged her, jumping from the crater he created, tonfa at the ready, and charged his limbs with chakra. Their weapons connected, but Naruto's monstrous strength took Kushina off guard, blowing away her block with ease. Naruto saw this and feinted up, when in actuality he was aiming for her legs. She saw through it though, and didn't even flinch at the blow he faked to her head, and jumped over his leg sweep.

Kushina propelled herself off of the balls of her feet, and spun putting more strength behind her slash. Naruto blocked it, their weapons clinking off of each other, but Kushina wasn't done. She followed up with a diagonal slash from the other end that Naruto dodged by stepping backwards out of the way. Naruto hopped back into her guard before she could complete the motion of bringing the sword back down, but his gamble backfired.

Lightning quick like a bite from a cobra, Kushina slashed upwards with her katana, slicing a shallow cut into Naruto's chest.

He staggered back, holding his now bleeding chest, and winced in pain.

Kushina held her sword up horizontal near her head, tip pointed at Naruto. "You are probably not used to fighting more eastern styled weaponry due to your upbringing. The katana is a speacial weapon that, in the right hands, is virtually unstoppable," she said to him as she slowly stepped to the side, assesing the damage she dealt.

Naruto winced a little, and glowered at her. He pulled back the hand he held over his wound, and was shocked to see the still glistening red of his own blood. Why hadn't his healing factor kicked in yet.

 **"It's cause of her blade, " The Kyuubi growled in Naruto's head. "That blade of hers is the damndest thing. Any wound it inflicts cannot close up, no matter how hard the person tries. I've seen it in action, and I have seen the damage it can do. I suggest you do not get opened up by it again because even I cannot help you."**

"Ah," Kushina said taking Naruto out of his thoughts. "You must be talking to the Kyuubi about my precious darling here," she indicated to her sword. "This combination of your father and my own sealing techiniques are the reason I earned the moniker _Uzu no Aka Shi,_ or the Red Whirpool of Death. Whatever I cut with this sword was guaranteed dead because their wounds would never close as long as I was conscious. Sometimes I even was able to kill people after the battle was over," she smiled smugly. "I might of not had a flee on sight order like your father, but I earned my S ranking all the same."

Naruto cursed. That had to be cheating in some category. C'mon! That kind of weapon is stupid. He shook his head. He needed to focus. She said as long as she was conscous. So, all he had to do was defeat her and he wouldn't bleed out to death.

Operation, kick my mother's ass is a go!

It was time to play to his strengths. Literally.

He felt the well of power inside of him, his godly reserves of power that he had access to. He felt the warm blood beneath his skin suddenly get ten times hotter. Like if his blood was water and it was boiling, that would be it right now. But instead of pain, he felt comforted. He felt powerful.

The first time he used this power to the extent he was going to, Jason was able to match him blow for blow until they both fell unconscious in the ruins of a wrecked training field. When he woke up in a full body cast and grunted/asked why he felt like he just went ten rounds with Hannibal and lost all of them, the medics said he pushed himself to the brink. He overexerted his powers and his body had not ben acclimated to those levels before. They said the reason he was in a full body cast was because he burned off a good portion of his skin and hair and internally he had burns on his organs, don't ask how that's possible but it happened, and he was in a state of malnourishment because he burned off thousands of calories. Too many calories. They put him a strict, never to go that far with his powers again, promise under threat of telling Reyna what really happened.

Gods bless Jason and his ability to actually hold up under Reyna's terrifying glare after she was told they were in the hospital. Honestly, Naruto physcally couldn't talk but Jason could, and he kept quiet. Saying that they were trying a unison techinque that backfired badly. What a bro, right? Didn't stop her from giving them the worst dressing down they have ever or will ever experience in their lives.

He felt the familiar feel of his skin start to sizzle, but knew that it wasn't coming off this time. He saw the steam start to rise form his arms as the cold air around him met the heat from his body. The muscles under his skin tightned yet stayed loose and became akin to steel and his hair began to point towards the sky and glow red like magma. He breathed out, blistering hot air being released, and widened his stance.

Kushina stopped smiling and readied herself. It would seem her son has decided to kick things up a knotch.

Well, she wasn't one to be outdone by her own son at that.

From the ground behind him, a chain flew out, but it was shattered with a simple backhanded strike from Naruto who didn't even turn his head to look at it.

Kushina raised an eybrow at that. Seemed like his senses have increased as we-

Her thoughts did not get farther than that because pain, pure pain blossomed in her stomach, and she saw the dark edge up in her vision. She was given no reprieve as air and spittle was drilled out of her with a blow that felt like it could level a mountain. She folded over the fist, stunned, and unable to respind to what came next.

Naruto, fist withdrew his fist, and grabbed the back of Kushina's head, and held it there as he shot a knee into her chin. The knee connected with a crack, as Kushina's once folded form straightend out unwillingly and flew a few feet off of the ground. Naruto gripped her arm and tugged her along with him into a spin. He spun and then released her like a slingshot into the surrounding trees.

 **CRASH! CRACK!**

Naruto grinned a little at the sounds of trees coming to the ground. That meant he threw her hard enough to break through them. Several of them at that. He saw the birds fly into the sky, frightened at the unexpected dismantling of their homes via flying body. He knew that wouldn't be enough to put her down. If she was as tough as he was quickly realizing, putting her through some trees would only annoy her.

He heard rustling and then a whistle and looked up to see a giant tree flying straight towards him like a thrown spear. Acting quickly, he jumped back, giving himself enough distance and letting the tree crash into the ground. He couldn't breath a sigh of relief yet, as he heard the whistling again, and looked up. His jaw almost dropped at what he saw. Several massive trees were flying towards him, all threw the same way as the last one. There were enough trees in the air to cover all of what he stood on. He had to get to her if he wanted them to stop.

Thinking quickly, he jumped to the side, dodging the first tree. He was forced to swiftly jump up and onto the second tree that came his way. He grit his teeth, and ran along the trunk of the airborne tree, hopping onto the next one he found. With unreal agiilty and strength, Naruto ran along the next trunk and then the next into the air. He flipped forward in the air, jumping above a few more trees, hair whipping in the wind, and landed on another one. Thinking quickly, Naruto got an idea. He stomped down on the end of the giant tree he was on, causing it to tilt up. With a quick application of chakra, he ran to the backside of it and punched it. His fist split the thick trunk in half, leaving splinters to fly into the air. He grabbed the half without all the tree on it, and jumped forward once more but now with a tree trunk in his hands. Slowly the trees stopped coming, and Naruto saw Kushina, chains waving threateningly around her like her pet snakes or metal tentacles waving around her dangerously. The tree in locked into a few of her chains promised pain. Naruto lowered his shoulder, letting gravity take hold and he started to spin down towards her. Getting closer to the ground, he picked up speed, coming down like a comet. He spun, and released the massive tree down at her like a missile. He tilted his body forward and put his arms to the side, becoming almost like a dart, and felt his speed increase even more.

In response, Kushina threw the tree she had at his, destroying the both of them in a show of splinters which Naruto rocketed through. Naruto let his body flip upwards. and he pulled back both of his fists. Kushina saw this, and shot up her chains into a shield on top of her just in time.

He came down like the meteor that killed the dinosaurs.

 **BOOM!**

The surrounding area exploded. A bright blast of white encompassed the two of them and blew outwards as they collided. The surviving trees were blown backwards, some even uprooted and blown through the air as these two heavyweights clashed. Naruto grit his teeth as he pushed forward with all his weight and strength, and felt the chains giving way slowly. All he needed was a little bit more...

"I gotta say Naruto," He heard Kushina start from behind her shield of chains, "you are...disappointing."

"Hu-!"He tried to say, but a chain wrapped around his neck from behind, and pulled him away. The chain slammed him face first into the ground, and then onto his back with savage force that shot the air straight out if his body. The chain did not loosed or relent, and stayed around his neck, tightening as it lifted him into the air. He gasped for breath, flashed his tonfa back and tried to grab the chain around his neck. Chains shot out from the shield she put up and wrapped themselves around his arms and legs, restraining him tightly.

She stepped forward, glanced around at the destruction they wrought, before turning her attention back to him. She started talking as she walked closer to him.

"You. Are. Disappointing Naruto," She told him with a slight frown on her face. Naruto didn't know why, but that sentence made his heart drop into his stomach. "I don't know why your father decided to raise you in this _soft_ world. He took you away from your birthright and now look at you. You are _weak_. You think you are strong?" She laughed as she got close to his face and looked him in his eyes. Naruto breathed heavily through his nose like a caged animal as he glared at her.

With naught but a thought on her part, Kushina had her chains bring forward her son's arms. She grabbed them and reached for the tonfa she knew were disguised on his hands. Naruto saw her intentions and began to struggle anew, but the chains tightened painfully around his neck and limbs once more.

Kushina took the fingerless gloves into her hands and tossed them into the air a few times in a careless manner that made Naruto feel even more angry.

"Look at these," she said as she held them up in her hands. Her hands started to glow golden. The light got brighter and brighter, and Naruto was helpless to stop what happened next.

 **BOOM!**

His weapons, his pride and joy, that had seen him through a multitude of battles and destroyed hundreds of monsters into dust. The first gift he had gotten from his father were gone.

Kushina shook the leftover debris from her hand and blew on the smoke that rose from her palms. "One thing I learned about the weapons on this side of the world is that they are pretty easy to break," She told him, stepping onto the smoking bits left of his weapons. "Your father gave you those, didn't he?" She asked with a strange look on her face. "I bet he did. Hmm, I wonder what was going through his head when he made you those. They weren't bad, but," she looked down and then back up to him, "you can see what happened to them. You think that those made you strong? You think that because you know how to use chakra that you are strong?! You think because you have godly blood running through your veins that you are strong?! You think because you have the Kyuubi inside of you, that you are strong?!" Suddenly the chains loosened and dropped him to the ground unceremoniously.

Naruto landed on his face choking and breathing haggardly as he tried to get his breath back.

Kushina looked down at her son impassively. "Get up."

Naruto coughed and tried to rise, tried to draw on anything, but to his horror he came up empty.

"Right now, you probably tried to grab for your chakra or your godly energy, but my chains are special. They are an Uzumaki Kekkai Genkai or trait particular to only Uzumaki's. They restrain and drain most anything be it people, Gods, or even _Bijuu,_ " She revealed to him. She crouched down on her haunches and said once more, "Get up."

Kushina looked down at her struggling son and buried the maternal instinct to help him ruthlessly. She knew he needed to learn this. Her Queen knew he needed this lesson as well. If he was to succeed she was going to have to get rough with him no matter how much it hurt her heart to see him like this. She hardened her heart and fell back onto her shinobi training.

She pointed her katana at his head and intoned once more, "Get. Up."

He still didn't rise.

"Get. Up."

He struggled on shaky arms, but didn't rise to his feet.

" **GET UP! I SAID GET UP!** " She finally yelled at him.

"I CAN'T!"

.

.

.

Kushina clenched her jaw in anger at his reply. Her Queen was right. Her son was soft. She buried her emotions once more and made a decision.

She stabbed her Katana straight down. Right into his hand, impaling it there.

"AAHH!" He screamed in pain.

She let go of her katana, letting it stay there stuck in son's hand as it bled out onto the ground.

She sat for a minute letting the katana stay there in his hand before yanking it out and stabbing it into the ground next to his hand.

"What do you mean, you can't get up, Naruto?" She asked him.

He looked at her with despair in his eyes. They were full of weakness. Like he had accepted his defeat and replied, "I have nothing left. I'm out of chakra, out of godly energy, and I can't access the Kyuubi. I have nothing left."

Kushina reached towards his face and softly gripped his chin, raising his head up.

Then smacked him.

 **Hard.**

His head was forced to the side from the smack to his cheek.

Kushina scowled at her son. "That shouldn't matter. Why do you fight, Naruto?" She asked him as he brought his head back to stare at her.

Naruto thought about it for a minute before answering her. "I fight for my camp."

"Oh, you fight for your camp, huh? You call this fight? Your precious camp is in danger of being destroyed. It will be raised to the ground. Nothing will be left of it! Every single person in that camp of yours will die or be enslaved by Gaea and her monsters or worst! And you are here on your knees, ready to give up!" She yelled at him. It was time to drive her point home. "If you fought for them, you wouldn't give up! If that camp was so precious to you, you wouldn't give up! Even if you have nothing left in you, you wouldn't give up if it was that important to you! Do you just not care?!"

"I care! I care about my camp! About my home! I-"

"Then get up! You don't have people in your home that you care about?!"

"I do!"

(Insert that really intense Naruto main theme music. You guys know which one!)

"Who do you fight for then?! You would rather them die at the hands of Giants and monsters?! GET UP OR THEY WILL DIE!"

Naruto grit his teeth, as he realized. He realized that there were people counting on him. Hazel, Frank, and Percy who were on this quest with him. His friends back at Camp Jupiter. The Cohort that he grew up in. The other Cohorts that were all preparing for war. How was he going to find Jason if he died here!? How would Reyna react if he died here?! She was counting on him to come back to her! To help her! He wasn't going to let them all die! No! No, he wasn't going to give up here! He had people that were relying on him! He had a home to protect! He had friends to protect!

He put his hands heavily against the ground, and started to push himself up.

Kushina looked at him, struggling to rise with a reignited fire in his eyes and stepped back. "Who are you?!" She asked him.

There was a fire ignited in his belly. His arms shook with exertion and fatigue and his legs felt like jelly, but he kept rising up.

"I am Naruto," he got up to his knees.

"Uzumaki," He put his hands on his knees, popping one out and slowly rising up.

"Son of the Roman God Vulcan and the _Uzu no Aka Shi_ Kushina Uzumaki," He got both his feet under him shakily, but his shoulders still sagged with his head down.

"AND I'M DONE GIVING UP DATTEBAYO!" His head rose and he glared right at his mother. He was done giving up. He wasn't going to anymore! He had people that were relying on him! Reyna was counting on him. Jason was counting on him! They trusted him to make it back in one piece, and damnit that was what he was going to do! He had a home to protect, and it didn't matter if he was up against Mother Nature herself. He wasn't going to let them down!

Kushina smiled at her son standing one his feet, tall and unbowed. Unbroken. This was the backbone she wanted to see. This was the strength she meant. When you had nothing left to give, but were still able to get up because you knew you had people counting on you. You had a home to protect. It was how her family taught it. It was how she lived it. And now? It was time for her son to live it as well.

She nodded approvingly at him, noting how his legs still shook and his arms were limp, but his eyes told a different story. They were strong. They were filled with an undying fire. They told the story of a man ready to fight! Ready to never give up! Ready to give all he had and more! Her senses stretched outwards, feeling the results of the battles that took place farther away. She smiled. Her son had strong friends indeed.

"Good, Naruto," she said. She walked up to him, and he tensed up. Kushina felt her heart break a little, but pushed through it. She reached for him, but his still fatigued body couldn't move out of the way in time.

He closed his eyes ready for the pain or anything.

He wasn't ready for the hug he received.

He felt the warmth of her body. It was different from any other heat he was used to. It was...comforting.

Is this what a mom feels like? He couldn't help but wonder.

Her arms tightened around him, and despite the fight he was just in with her, he couldn't stop what he was feeling. He couldn't stop his arms that wrapped themselves around her in response.

"Oh my Babyboy," Kushina whispered in his ear. He felt something dampen his shoulder, and was shocked as he realized what was happening.

She was crying.

"Oh my precious son, I am so sorry," she apologized to him. She pulled back and stared him in the eyes, and Naruto could see the tears falling down her face. "I am so sorry I wasn't there to raise like a mother should. I am sorry I wasn't there for your first words or when you took your first steps or even when you had your first birthday. I am sorry you didn't have a normal life. I know your father tried his best and is trying his best, and I am sorry that we both couldn't be there the days you needed us. I guess it worked out for the better," She smiled sadly as she looked him up and down. "Look at you. My boy is handsome and he even has my hair! We Uzumaki's pride ourselves on our hair color so wear it proudly," She brought him back into the hug, and Naruto felt her take a shaky breath against him. "I love you. My little fishcake. I love you, and don't you ever forget that. You are my son, and no one can take that away from me or you. I know I've missed a lot of birthdays, all of them actually, but I hope you can forgive me. I hope you can forgive me for what I had to do to you today, but it was for your own good."

"What do you mean?" he asked her as she pulled back from the hug once more.

She smiled sadly at him. "Gaea is not to be taken lightly Naruto. Her armies are strong, nigh unstoppable, but my Queen has enacted a plan that can save the world. And you are a part of it. You know that Percy boy is a key in this plan, and so is your friend Jason. And before you get all out of whack, know he is safe, but he has his own mission. Don't worry. You will be meeting him sooner than you expect," She winked.

A chain snaked out from her back and wrapped itself around the handle of her katana which was stuck in the ground. It yanked it out and brought it back to Kushina's waiting hand. Kushina took one last long look at her beloved weapon before handing it to her son.

"Here, take it," She said.

Naruto went wide eyed and gaped at his mom. He numbly took the sword he knew meant a lot to her, but couldn't help but asking, "Why?"

"Because I did break your original weapons," She rubbed the back of her head in a sheepish manner. "Sorry for that by the way, but also, think of it as a late birthday gift. Or early. Whichever, I am giving it you now. It is keyed to anyone of Uzumaki blood, so all you need to do is drop some blood on its blade and channel some chakra into it, and it will be yours from then on and your wounds should start to close. After that it cannot harm you. No one other than a person of Uzumaki blood or someone else keyed into it can use its blade. If someone who is not of our blood or keyed in tries to use it, well, lets just say that they are in for a nasty shock. Carve out your place in history with it like your ol' mom did, and protect those you care for with it as well. Don't worry about trying to kill monsters with it, it can do that just as well as any blade made of imperial gold dattebane."

Kushina stepped back from her son and kissed him once on his forehead. She stepped away from him, and smiled widely at him. A smile that Naruto reciprocated. Smiling so wide that his eyes closed.

Then a chain wrapped around his body.

He opened his eyes in shock and gave Kushina a look of betrayal.

She waved his look off, "Pfft, don't give me that look. How else are you going to get to your friends fast enough?"

He stared at her incredulously. "I could just walk or run!"

"Nah. We are in Canada right now, and I am pretty sure you can't run all the way back to your friend ," She dismissed. "This is way faster and more fun, right?"

"No! How are we ev-,"

"I'm hearing nothing but 'Yes' come from your mouth, so that's what I am going with."

"Wait! No! WHAAAAaaaa..."

Kushina squinted as her son flew further and further away from her. "I hope I didn't throw him too hard. You think I threw him too hard?" She asked to seemingly nobody.

From beside her, a golden flash appeared beside her. When the light died down, it revealed the Queen of the Gods herself.

Kushina looked at her and shook her head. "Nah, he's proven he's made of stern stuff."

Hera looked at her new Second, and shook her head in amusement. She had gotten used to some of her mannerisms at this point. Hera, though, had a question on her mind. "So, do you think he is ready, Kushina?"

Kushina turned to her Queen and gave a so-so motion with her hand. "Honestly, I don't know. When I clashed with him I felt his strength of will and his determination, and now it is even greater. He has all the tools to become a force of nature, but the wildcard is of course the Kyuubi."

Hera nodded along with that. "I agree. If the Kyuubi should be let loose then it is bad for all of us. Are you sure you know nothing that can help with that?"

Kushina shook her head. "I am sure, Lady Hera. I did encounter the host of the Eight-Tails who was able to use its power effectively and without any adverse side effects, but I don't know how he did it."

Hera nodded. Kushina was right, of course. They could do nothing, but hope that Naruto isn't forced to release the Kyuubi's power and be overtaken by it.

"Let us go, Kushina. It is time to return before anyone notices we have left. I don't want to be given another lecture from my _husband,_ " she said as a golden glow came over them both. In a flash they were both gone from the surrounding forests leaving nothing behind as an indicator that they were there.

.

.

.

.

.

She sat staring out at her village. The village she had become the leader of after her sensei perished at the hands of her former teammate.

"Are you sure that's where he is?" She asked the tall man standing in front of her desk.

The tall man nodded, his long white hair shaking along with his head. "I am sure, hime. The Old Man took detailed notes about what he knew, and I have conversed with the toads as well. He is there, and we need to bring him back if we want to have any sort of hope," he told her.

The blonde-haired woman frowned, but didn't say anything.

The tall man took a step forward and leaned on her desk. "C'mon, hime. I am THE spymaster. If anyone can get in and out of there with him, it's me. You know that. Just give the go ahead, and I'll be back with him in a few months. I'll send a toad every few weeks with what I see and notice about this new land."

The blonde-haired woman, still staring out at her village, took a moment to respond. Finally she said, "Fine. The mission is a go," she missed the fist pump of success committed by the tall man as she had her back to him. "But," she started breaking the man out of his victory dance, "You will take a team with you. I don't care who, but you will take a three man cell with you just to be safe."

She spun her chair around and stared up at the tall man with her piercing amber eyes. She said, "We know nothing about him or these so called Gods, and I would rather us not get into conflict with them. You get in, you get him, and then you get out. We will explain things to him after, and I'm pretty sure once he hears what's going on he won't refuse to help us. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission remember?"

The man nodded seriously already thinking of the people he was going to bring along with him. "You think Hiashi will let me take his oldest with me? You know she has the strongest pair of eyes and is the best with the Gentle Fist after her dismantling of her cousin at the exams. You are one miracle maker by the way. I still don't know how you got her out of her shell to do something like that to her cousin."

She shrugged his shoulders. "It's just a matter motivation. It was tough, but I did it. And he better if he knows what's good for him. I know he is grooming her to be the next clan head, but there won't be any clan if this mission doesn't succeed."

The man nodded his head at that as well. "I'll bring my team here once I collected them, so you give them a rundown before we go," he told her.

She nodded and dismissed him with her hand. "Good. Now, get out of my office," she said.

The man smiled at her before turning, opening the door, and leaving. His wooden sandals clacking the whole way down.

The woman turned back to the wide open window showing the village she now commanded, her village. She didn't know the outcome would be or even if the mission would succeed, but it was a risk she had to take. There were forces brewing in the shadows, and, if that old toad was right, they needed Naruto.

They needed him now more than ever.


End file.
